The Silver Steel Alchemist
by Hopeless Alchemist
Summary: 14 year old Myra Loken has traveled from her home in Dublith to Central to take the State Alchemist's Exam. After falling asleep out side, having not slept in days, she's found by Ed and Al. Throughout her journey, she learns more than she could have ever wanted about her and her family from the being known as Truth, all the while finding feelings she never knew. Eventual EdXOC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Welcome to TSSA! I've recently started editing some of this fanfic because according to my best friend, 33 followers isn't that many. (I was overjoyed when I got even 3 followers, but I guess it's all about the fame on this site.)**

**So without further hesitation, I give you the new Chapter 1!**

•

The sun burned my skin with every step I took, the heat draining me of any energy I had left. My arms were tired from carrying my suitcase and my legs felt like mush. I wanted so badly to collapse on the ground and fall asleep where ever I landed, but I couldn't.

'Snap out of it Myra,' I thought to myself as I slapped my cheek. 'You've come too far to fall now.'

I continued walking down the busy streets of Central. The State Alchemist exams were this week and I had to get there as soon as I could.

My eyes grew wide once I'd caught sight of Central Command.

'There it is,' I thought, a smile touching my lips.

As my legs finally gave, I fell to the grass in a heap. The world began to spin as I looked up at the sky. When my vision faded, I didn't fight it. At this point I was too exhausted to even care about why I'd come here.

•••

The Elric brothers were sitting on the steps of the Central Command Center, bored out of their minds.

"Hey brother," Alphonse Elric said to his older brother Edward.

"What is it?" Ed asked, glancing up at Al.

"I think there's a girl over there. She's in the grassy area under a tree."

Ed looked around the suit of armor that was his younger brother and over at the girl. "She's obviously not from around here. Notice the suitcase?" he pointed out.

Al continued to look at her. He looked slightly to the left, and sure enough next to the girl was a dark brown suitcase. "I wonder why she fell asleep under a tree," he thought out loud. "There are plenty of inns she could have gone to instead."

Ed shrugged his shoulders and leaned back on the steps, closing his eyes as he relaxed. He wasn't particularly interested in her. "Beats me. Some people are just weird like that."

Al continued looking at her. "I don't think that's the case. Maybe we should go see why she's over there."

Ed opened one eye and raised an eyebrow. "Why should we care?"

"It's not like we have anything better to do right now," Al stated.

Silently admitting defeat, Ed sighed and stood up from where he sat.

The two brothers walked up to the girl. She really was asleep.

The girl sheepishly rolled over onto her back. Her mouth moved slightly before she started speaking.

"No brother. It's not going to work," she mumbled, her words barely audible.

"What is she dreaming about?" Al asked, not expecting an answer.

"Shh," Ed hushed, his attention now pulled to the girl.

The two boys watched her as she started up again. "I'm telling you, it won't work."

They continued watching her, half intrigued and half confused.

"Brother, no!" She woke up mid-scream. When she saw the boys staring at her, she screamed again.

"What the hell do you want from me!?" she yelled, sitting up. Her violet eyes were wide with anger and panic.

"We saw you up here and wanted to know what you were doing," Al explained as they backed away from her, hands up in surrender.

"I was sleeping!" she shouted, stating the obvious. She seethed in anger as her hands clenched into fists.

"Well yeah, we knew that," Ed said bluntly.

The girl's eye twitched as she clapped her hands and touched the ground. A spear rose up and she armed herself with it. "Make one more smart ass comment and you're toast, bub. I'm warning you, I've never lost a fight."

They looked at her with shocked faces when she transmuted. Her forehead furrowed in confusion at their reactions.

"What the hell is wrong with the two you?" she questioned as her grip on the weapon loosened.

"How did you do that?" Ed asked her, answering her question with another question.

Her eyebrow rose at his reaction. "It's alchemy you idiot," she said matter-of-factly, her grip on the spear tightening once again. Her facial expression grew hard once more as she jabbed it in Ed's direction. "Now answer my questions. What do you want?"

"Would you put that thing down!? You'll hurt someone!" he said, his hands still up.

"Not until you answer me." She lowered the spear but didn't drop it.

"We wanted to know if you needed help," he said, putting his hands down.

Her forehead furrowed when he said this. "What do I look like to you guys, a damsel in distress?"

"Not at all," Ed remarked flatly. His doing so only irritated her more.

The girl's eyes narrowed as she spoke. "What the hell do you want anyway blondie? I'm flat broke at the moment, so if you were planning on robbing me good luck with that."

Ed folded his arms over his chest. "How about you answer some questions? To start off, you saw the Truth, didn't you?" he questioned.

Her eyes grew wide before gritting her teeth. Her eyes narrowed and she lowered the spear slightly.

•

These morons were really starting to get on my nerves. It was one of those times where you just had to look at someone and know you wouldn't like them. It was more the blonde I didn't like than the guy in armor right now. I hadn't seen his face, so I couldn't get a good read on him.

The air around me only felt more uncomfortable the moment the blonde had asked me the question about Truth.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, playing dumb to the question.

The blonde glared at me. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. It's the reason you can do alchemy without a transmutation circle."

"How do you know so much about it, pipsqueak?" I questioned in return.

Saying this seemed to hit a nerve. He spazzed out and screamed, "WHO YOU CALLIN' PIPSQUEAK!? I'M STILL GROWING AND I'M TALLER THAN YOU! WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO CALL ME THAT!?"

Completely confused at this point, I watched as the guy in armor tried to calm him down.

"You're not that much taller than me," I retorted once he finished. "And geez, are you always this high strung?"

He didn't bother answering my question. After he cooled his head a bit he asked again. "You saw the Truth, didn't you? What did you do?"

His face was demanding. The tight grip I had on my spear loosened slightly as I gritted my teeth.

Regretting how soft I could be, I caved.

**A/N: Before you go onto the next chapter (unless you don't like this. I'm not sure why you're still here if that's the case. If I don't like a fanfic I just go back to browsing...) please keep this in mind: I'm **_**WELL**_** aware of the fact Myra is something of an Ed Mary Sue, but please try to not let the little things sway your opinion. The good thing is that I've managed to keep her really original, aside from minor things you'll pick up on in a little bit if you keep going.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So this is another edited chapter. The only thing is that couldn't figure out how to go on with this chapter without messing with the next couple chapters, so this one's still pretty short. I've got a little more detail, so I'm hoping that can make up for the suckish length.**

•

A flood of memories I'd tried so desperately to forget forced their way up to the surface. My hands lost their grip on the spear and it fell to the ground with a faint clang.

I shivered as visions of that night poured into my mind; the empty space where my brother used to be, the _thing_ in the middle of the room that was supposed to be my sister... It was almost painful to think about.

"We just wanted her back," I said breathily.

"Wanted who back?" the guy in the suit of armor asked me.

Not looking up at either of the guys I answered with, "My sister."

I had no clue what possessed me to tell this to a couple of strangers. All I knew was that I couldn't stop once I'd started.

Staring at the ground, I let out a deep breath and began.

"I never knew my parents. The both of them died shortly after I was born, leaving me with my big brother and our older sister. She was a lot older and had a job. She turned herself into our replacement mother. I hated that she had to take care of us when she could have been raising a family of her own. My brother used to joke about how he would become a State Alchemist one day so that we would never have to worry about money."

Tears threatened to pour out of my eyes as I kept talking. "My sister was in an accident about a year and a half ago. She died and my brother and I were depressed for months. During those months, my brother came to the conclusion that we could bring her back. Every book I read said that it couldn't be done. My brother had the idea he could do it stuck in his brain, though. I didn't want to go against the only family I had left, so I went along with it."

The tears won this round and began falling one at a time. "We just wanted to see her smile, hear her soft voice, feel her warm hugs, and even smell her again. In the end, I lost my brother and my right leg."

My hands gripped the sides of my pants. I kept my head held low. My voice was shaky as I continued. "I want to pass the exam so that my family, where ever they are, doesn't have to worry about me. I have to pass."

I smiled as I wiped my face with my coat sleeve. "Besides, it can't be that hard. I heard that some kid named Edward Elric passed when he was twelve. I'm two years older than that. It should be as easy as pie."

The blonde bent down to my level. I looked up and frowned at him as he spoke.

"I'd be careful about what you say. That test is pretty hard," he said.

The tears went away along with the smile. "Just how would you know?" I questioned, back to my normal self now.

He stood up. "For one thing," he started as he reached into his pocket. "I'm Edward Elric." He pulled out a silver pocket watch.

My jaw dropped as I stared at the pocket watch. "You're Edward Elric? _The _Fullmetal Alchemist? But that doesn't make any sense!"

Slightly amused, I watched as his eye twitched at my comment. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked through clenched teeth.

I pointed to the guy behind him. "I would have expected it to be your pal in armor over there."

He spazzed some, but it wasn't as bad as the first time. "Why does everyone say that!" he exclaimed.

"Brother! Calm down!" the guy in armor commanded.

"Brother?" A light turned on in my head. "Oh yeah, I've heard of you too. You're Alphonse Elric, the younger brother. I should have realized that sooner. The armor is for some kind of training, right?" I asked to make sure I hadn't gotten false information.

"Heheh. Yeah," he said nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

I raised an eyebrow at his answer before letting it go. "Well, uh, sorry I pulled that spear on you guys. Anyways, I'm Myra Loken. I used to live in Dublith." I held my hand out and shook with the two of them.

'Well that's weird,' I thought when I shook Edward's hand. It felt hard and cold through the white glove he was wearing, nothing like what flesh and bone should feel like.

Choosing to ignore the questions that ran through my mind, I brushed myself off and looked up at the two of them. "Well, you guys must have some money on you. Is there any place where I can get something to eat? I'm starving." My question was followed by the sound of my stomach growling.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I now give you another edited chapter! I'm hoping that this makes up for the fact I've been ignoring this fanfic for a while…**

•••

The three of them walked into a restaurant, where Myra proceeded to stuff herself like a pig.

"When was the last time you ate?" Ed asked, close to dumbstruck by the amount of food this little girl could eat.

Myra stuck a forkful of food into her mouth and chewed as she thought about this. "Umm... Maybe a week ago?" she said after swallowing. "The owner of a restaurant gave me leftovers from that nights shift." She picked up her glass and swallowed some water.

"A whole week? No wonder you're so hungry," Al said.

She nodded in agreement. "The last time I got a good night's sleep was two or three days ago. I fell asleep in a park that time." She stuffed another forkful into her mouth as the questions kept coming.

"You said before that you walked all the way from Dublith. Why not just take the train?" Ed asked, wondering what sane person would walk a distance like that.

"I couldn't afford a train ticket," she explained. "I would have if I could, but the bank account was nearly cleaned out a few months ago. I've had to work for my food and other things since then."

"What cost you so much money?" Ed asked.

"I had to get a leg. Auto-mail isn't cheap you know. It still feels weird, being able to move my leg but not feel anything. I just can't get used to it. You should know all about that." She lifted her glass to her lips and drank some more water.

Ed froze when she said this. 'She can't know, can she?' he thought as he stared at her, eyes wide.

Myra took another bite and stared at Al while she chewed, then at Ed.

"Hey Alphonse," she said after she swallowed. "You're hollow aren't you?"

Al froze along with his brother.

"Why would you say something like that?" Ed asked nervously, trying to smile innocently.

She swallowed again and furrowed her eyebrows. "Because it's true. And your right arm and left leg, they're automail aren't they?" She casually took another bite of food,

"How did you know?" Al asked eventually.

"It's when you walk. Normally when a person in armor walks, their feet hit the ground with a thump. But when you walk, it's more like a clang. Like there's an echo." She drank some more water. "Also, you didn't order anything to eat. The pieces fell in place when we walked in here."

After a few more bites she continued. "And it'd pretty obvious with you, Edward. When I shook your hand it was too hard. The glove doesn't make up for the soft skin and muscle tissues you know. And when you walk, you land differently on your left side."

Ed stared at her, astonished with how easily she'd figured them out.

"I wonder why you wear those gloves," Myra went on. "Automail isn't that shocking, so why would you keep it a secret? Just make up some story and stick with it."

The brothers remained frozen as Myra kept on eating.

'What is this girl?' Ed thought. 'She's so calm about this like it's nothing.'

"One more thing," she said after she swallowed. "You two did it didn't you? Human transmutation. The same as what I did although Alphonse made it out mostly alive." She sighed and the boys kept looking at her. "If only I'd thought about that. Binding a soul to armor, that is. It wouldn't have fit my brother though. He would rather die trying then live and fail."

They finished eating in silence.

Myra sat her suitcase on the side walk once they left the restaurant.

"Thank you for the meal," she said with a smile.

"No problem. Happy to help," Ed said.

•

I couldn't help it. Even if they were a couple of moronic dumbasses

I stepped over to Alphonse and hugged his big metal body. Both of them were shocked when I did this.

'

I stood there and waited for him to hug me back. He did after a few moments. I pulled away and stepped to Edward. I hugged him and his body froze. We stood there for a while.

"I'm not letting go until you return the hug," I said. "Equivalent Exchange; I give, I need to receive."

He loosened slightly and returned the hug. Even with his red coat, I could feel the difference between his arms. His automail arm was harder.

Finally cutting the poor guy some slack, I pulled back and picked up my suitcase. "Well. I'll be seeing you two."

I laughed mentally when I saw Edward's face. There was a pink tint to it that I was pretty sure was from the hug.

•••

"Hey Brother," Al said as he watched Myra go down the street.

"What is it?" Ed asked as he looked up at his little brother.

"I think that's the first time since I was put into this armor that someone hugged me like that. She treated me like I was really human."

Ed felt his heart jump in his chest when Al said this. "What are you talking about Al?" he asked with a calm smile. "You are human."

"You know what I mean."

•

I had only walked down a few blocks when I heard a clanging sound. I turned around and saw the Elric brothers running down the streets to catch up with me.

"What? You guys miss me already?" I teased when they caught up to me.

"Not at all," Ed remarked, causing me to narrow my eyes at him in irritation. "We just want to see if you can actually pass the exam. If you pass I won't be the youngest anymore. Plus you're a girl. I'm amazed you got this far."

My irritated look turned into a glare when he mentioned the part about my being a girl.

"Well if you two are going to be following me around, I guess I should use this to my advantage," I thought out loud. They seemed somewhat taken aback with this comment. "Do you two happen to know of a place where I can stay? Don't even mention an inn. I can pay you guys back for the food later, but right now I have no clue how I could pay you back for an inn.

"Hey brother," Alphonse said. "Doesn't Hughes live near here?"

"Seriously? I don't think she can handle him," Edward said.

"I don't really care as long as there's somewhere for me to sleep that isn't under a tree," I joked.

•••

Ed knocked on Lieutenant Colonel Hughes' apartment door. Hughes opened the door greeted them with a smile. "Well if it isn't the Elric brothers. And they brought a friend," he said as he looked at Myra.

She stepped around Al and shook hands with Hughes. "My name is Myra Loken. I'm from Dublith and I came to Central to take the State Alchemist exam."

"So you're the little girl I heard about that's taking the exam," he said.

Myra tightened her fist after they shook and her whole body stiffened. It took every ounce of strength she had to keep from pounding him. "Could you repeat that? I thought I just heard you call me a little girl," she said through clenched teeth.

"Sorry. I guess you're like Ed here," Hughes said, backing away a few centimeters just to be safe.

Her teeth still clenched she said, "Just to warn you. If you ever call me that again, I . Will. Kill you."

Hughes wasn't fazed by this at all. He simply laughed it off and said, "So what can I do for you guys?"

"Myra needs a place to stay while the exam is going on and we thought she could stay in your guest room," Al said.

"Sure she can stay. My daughter loves it when we have guests," he said smiling.

Ed was prepared to make a run for it. 'Please don't let there be pictures,' he thought nervously.

"Well I won't really be around," Myra said, breaking his thoughts. "I have to study for the written exam and also practice my alchemy. I was planning on going to the library to go over what I could."

Hughes nodded after she explained. "You can leave your suitcase in the guestroom. It's down the hall on the left," he said, pointing.

Myra nodded her head and stepped inside.

She returned in less than a minute and the three of them walked to the library.

•

My jaw dropped when I walked into the massive building.

"I've never seen so many books in one place!" I exclaimed. I began to run around pulling books off of shelves. Once I had a decent sized pile of books I walked to the large table and sat down. Alphonse was sitting reading a book and Edward was nowhere to be seen.

Nit concerned about him for the moment, I opened the first book on the stack and began reading. The speed at which I was doing so brought on some unnecessary attention.

"How are you able to read so fast and still learn anything?" Alphonse asked me. If he could have I had a feeling he'd be gaping at me.

I smiled. "When I first began reading and writing my sister taught me how to speed read. It's come in handy when I'm in a rush." I went back to the book and turned the page. I finished in about half an hour. I moved onto the next and continued in a loop. After I finished the fifth book I looked around the room. Edward was nowhere in sight.

The librarian came up to us and told us that the library would be closing soon.

"Hey Alphonse," I said. "How about we go looking for Edward?"

He nodded in agreement. "Okay. I'll look over here," he said pointing toward the right.

I nodded and went off to the left.

I looked around and in between bookshelves until I heard a noise. I stopped and focused. It was the rustling of paper. I looked around the next shelf and saw Edward sitting on the floor reading a book on alchemy.

I walked up to him and sat on the floor in front of him. I watched as his gold colored eyes moved back and forth while he read the book. I had never taken much notice to his eye color before. It was strange. My own eyes were a deep violet, but I had never seen anyone with a color stranger than my own. It was hypnotizing watching him read.

His eyes looked up and met mine. I backed up a few centimeters.

"Uh, the librarian told us that it's almost closing time," I said, stumbling slightly over my words.

"Okay," he answered simply. He put the book back on a shelf and stood up.

I followed his lead and walked to the other side of the library to find Alphonse. Once we did, the three of us left the library and walked away in different directions.

When I got back to the apartment I quickly got into the guestroom. I opened my suitcase and saw my brother and sister smiling at me. It was the photograph that we had taken the year before my sister died and my most prized possession.

I touched their faces and wondered how we could have been related. Our features were so different. My sister had her light hair, a color that was almost blonde, and her blue eyes. My brother had his dark black hair and light gray eyes. And then there was me, the shortest girl in the photo with cinnamon colored hair and violet eyes. Before everything happened, we would go out and people would try and figure out how we were connected.

I hugged the photograph before setting it on the pillow beside mine. I kicked off my shoes and pulled off my coat, before flopping onto the bed.

"I will pass the exam. I promise you," I said to the photograph, just before I drifted off to sleep.

**A/N: These edits are getting pretty long. This one had already been over 1000 words but I got it to a little over 2000 this time just by adding some details. Maybe editing is a good idea, but it's time consuming as hell.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This is yet another edited chapter. If you're a new reader know that these edits are better (in my opinion...) than the originals.**

•

I woke up the day of the written exam, confused about where I was.

'Oh yeah. I'm in the guestroom of the Hughes' apartment.'

I got up and stretched, then walked into the guest bathroom. There was a fresh towel on the counter so I closed the door, took my clothes off, and showered.

'It's been a long time since I took a real shower,' I thought.

After I had cleaned myself, I turned the water off and wrapped the towel around me, my long hair dripping water onto the floor.

I opened my suitcase and pulled out a pair of long pants and a long sleeve gray shirt.

I pulled on my clothes, and then pulled a comb through my hair. I pulled my hair ribbon out and tied my hair up into a high pony tail. I clenched my teeth as my bangs fell out to the sides.

"Damn hair," I grumbled.

I pulled on the dark blue coat I always wore and walked to the door for my boots.

I stared at my feet before I put my boots on. I sighed as I looked back and forth from my metal foot to my flesh one.

I stuffed my feet into my boots and opened the door.

'Here we go,' I thought as I left.

•••

"Where do you think she is?" Al asked his older brother.

Ed shrugged. "Beats me. I don't think it takes that long to get from the apartment to here."

The two of them were standing outside the Central Command center along with people who were taking the exam.

A bell rang and everyone else standing outside began to head inside.

"She's not gonna make it," Ed said.

Suddenly, Myra crashed into Ed and they fell to the ground with her on top of him. Neither of them were quite sure as to what happened. All they knew was that they were too close for comfort.

"S-sorry about that," she stammered as she got off of him, face red.

Ed was practically frozen stiff.

Her eyes grew wide as another bell rang. Not giving what had happened another thought, she ran inside.

"Are you okay?" Al asked as he turned to his brother. He held a hand out and Ed took it.

"Yeah I'm fine, but she really needs to learn to watch where she's going," Ed said, his face still tinted pink from the initial landing.

•

I blew a sigh of relief as I exited the building. 'Finally,' I thought.

The boys were sitting down on the steps. I sat down and joined them.

"So how was it?" Edward asked me.

"I managed to finish, but my brain hurts and my wrist is mush." I twisted my wrist around trying to get the blood flowing, but it felt too heavy. "Um, sorry about this morning when I crashed into you. I must have taken to long with my shower."

"It's fine," he said, obviously unsure of what else to say.

I lied down against the steps, letting the sun hit me in the face.

My brain had been over worked and the only thing it wanted the rest of me to do was sleep.

Apparently that's exactly what happened. When I woke up, the boys were gone.

'They left me,' I thought as I stood up to stretch. I yawned loudly before walking up the hill and to the streets.

'I wonder where I should go. It'd be weird going back to the Hughes' apartment.'

I had walked down the street a few blocks, when a whirring noise alarmed me. I looked around, and then kept walking. The noise went off again. I looked down at my right leg and groaned.

"You've gotta be kidding me," I grumbled.

I turned down an alley so I would stay out of people's ways. I rolled up my pant leg and looked over the metal. There were screws missing in the knee and lower into the leg.

"Damn it!" I exclaimed, a moan following. "How in the hell..."

"Well look here, it seems that there is another brat who walked into forbidden territory," a female voice said.

I fixed my pants and faced the direction of the voice. A woman with wavy black hair and a fat man stepped out from the shadows.

"Can I eat her Lust?" the fat man asked the woman hungrily.

"No Gluttony. We have orders to bring her back alive."

While the fat man, Gluttony, had a disappointed look on his face, there was a grimace on mine from the thought of being eaten alive.

"What do you want with me?" I asked, holding my hands up in preparation for a fight.

"Rumor has it that you've done human transmutation and saw the Truth, correct?" the woman, Lust, said.

"Why do you care?" I questioned. I attempted to move back, but my automail was too stiff. I was stuck.

"You could be the perfect sacrifice," she said plainly, a seductive smile gracing her face.

"Don't even think about running away," another voice said. There was another person behind me, a man I think, though his clothes told me otherwise. He was blocking the way back to the street.

I clapped my hands, touched the ground, and watched the familiar flash of light shine as a metal spear pushed its way up out of the ground.

"You want me?" I said, arming my self with the spear. "I'm not going down without a fight."

Lust held her hand out and her fingers lengthened.

I ducked down just in time. Her fingers nearly hit the man behind me.

"Sorry Envy," she said as her fingers retracted, all the while I watched with wide eyes.

"What the hell are you freaks?" I questioned as my body shook.

"You're obviously an alchemist. Have you ever heard of a homunculus?" Envy asked me.

"A homunculus is an artificial human being," I stated simply. "Everyone knows that, but no one's ever succeeded in creating one."

"Well that's rude of you to say, seeing as the proof is standing before you," Lust said, her tone slightly pissed off. The seductive smile came back as she spoke again. "Now why don't you be a good little girl and do as you're told."

My eye twitched when she said little girl. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" I roared. I gripped the spear, fought with my metal leg, and charged straight for her.

Everything happened in a flash. One of her hands grabbed my spear and with a quick move she cut through the spear with her other hand, jabbing her fingers in my left arm. I whimpered as blood dripped to the ground.

"I told you to follow orders," she said viciously.

I backed away and heard the mechanisms in my leg whine. "Damn it," I swore.

"You won't be going anywhere with that bum leg of yours," Envy said. A disturbing smile spread across his face.

I winced at the sound of my whining automail and fell to the ground. The distant sound of clanging knocked me out of it. I smiled to myself and thought, 'Please find me.'

•••

"Hey brother," Al said. "Where do you think Myra went off to?"

"If I had to guess I'd say she went back to Hughes' place."

The brothers had been told to meet with Colonel Mustang, who was visiting Central, about their last mission. When they went back Myra was gone.

Ed saw a flash of alchemic light shining from an alley.

"What was that?" he thought out loud.

The brothers ran down the street and looked into the alley. Myra was hunched on the ground, holding her right leg. Envy, Lust, and Gluttony were there as well.

Myra looked up at the two of them, a desperate expression on her face. Envy turned around to see what she was looking at.

"Well if it isn't the Fullmetal Pipsqueak," the homunculus said with a

Ed's eye twitched. "Pipsqueak," he mumbled. He clapped his hands and hit the ground. A giant stone hand rose from the ground and lifted Envy up into the air.

"Al! Get Myra out of here!" Ed shouted to his younger brother.

Al nodded his head. "Right." He ran over to Myra and picked her up.

"What the…!?" Myra said as Al ran down the street. She winced as she heard her automail whine.

"Please stay calm. My brother may be short, but he's a good fighter."

•

'How does he expect me to stay calm at a time like this?' I thought.

The sound of my messed up automail made me wince again. I couldn't feel anything, but the sound sent shivers down my spine.

"Is your arm okay?" Alphonse asked when he finally put me down. We were currently sitting on a bench in the nearby park.

I pulled my coat off and grimaced as my arm moved. That homunculus had most likely sliced through a good chunk of my muscles.

"If only I could use medical alchemy," I thought out loud. I turned around and leaned over the bench. I clapped my hands, grunting slightly as my wound pulled, and touched the grass. I watched as the grass deconstructed and turned into a cloth bandage. I picked it up and used my teeth to tie it around the hole in my arm.

"We should get you to a doctor," Alphonse suggested.

I vetoed the idea immediately. "No way in hell," I said as I shook my head furiously. "I hate doctors."

With Alphonse leaving our previous conversation alone, I lifted my coat up to inspect the hole. My lips pulled out into a sneer when I saw that the edges were rimmed with blood.

'I hate when this thing gets messed up,' I thought with an irritated huff. 'How many times am I going to have to fix it before it finally gives?'

I clapped my hands and touched my coat. The hole closed up and the molecular structure of the blood changed so that it evaporated.

Still annoyed at everything that had happened I pulled on my coat, careful about the bandage.

"Do you think Edward's okay?" I asked Alphonse.

Frowning I looked up at him to see he was looking of across the park.

I glanced over to see what it was he was looking at. Edward was coming from down the side walk. There was a pissed off expression on his face as he sat on the other side of Alphonse.

"So I'm guessing they got away," I remarked.

Edward turned his head the opposite direction. "Shut up," he mumbled coldly.

Turning my head away, I sighed again and stared up at the sky. 'All I wanted was to pass this goddamn exam, but now I've gotta worry about a bunch of creeps calling themselves homunculi.'


	5. Chapter 5

•

Alphonse ended up carrying me to the hospital. I would have walked if it hadn't been for my messed up auto-mail. The muscle really was torn and I ended up being stuck there for a while. We never figured out what happened to the screws in my leg.

The boys got the local auto-mail mechanic to come and fix my leg. Because it was simple repairs I was able to pay with the little money I had on me.

I'd had issues with doctors ever since my sister's accident. She should have been just fine, but when her injuries got infected the doctors didn't do anything for her. I know that it's stereotyping, but I couldn't help feeling an utter hatred toward the doctors that were helping me.

I had changed into somewhat nice clothes for the interview. I was able to go to the interview part of the Exam because I couldn't hurt my arm by asking questions.

The first thing I was asked when my turn came was to sit on an odd chair a chair that had three legs going out in odd directions. They said that alchemy was about balance, and that if I had the ability, I would be able to sit.

I sat down with my legs apart and my hands in front of me.

The next question was why I wanted to become a State Alchemist.

I breathed deeply and began. "I want to join because I promised myself that I would make my family proud, even if they were dead."

They asked some more questions and then I was escorted back to the hospital.

The hospital room was incredibly boring. I wasn't allowed outside and I went through books to fast because of my speed reading habit. I paced around the room until I got tired. Then I went back and forth from being awake and asleep. I eventually began counting. I made it to 3000 before I fell asleep again.

I woke up in the middle of the night with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I slammed my good arm against the bed.

"Damn it!" I screamed.

I had no clue what I'd be doing for the next part of the exam, where we show of our alchemy skills.

I went through the possibilities in my head. I already knew that my not needing a transmutation circle would already impress them.

A massive stone tower? No, too predictable.

A fight against another alchemist. Maybe. A fight would show off my fighting skills along with my alchemy skills. I would just need someone to go against. Only issue was that no one would go up against a kid. And not just a kid, but a girl.

The thought came into my head moments later.

"Edward."

•••

"You what!" Ed exclaimed when he met Myra at the hospital the next morning.

"You heard me. I want to fight you for the exam today. And absolutely no holding back," she said. She was sitting on the edge of the hospital bed with a big smile on her face.

"There's no way the hospital will let you do that. You're arm…"

Myra cut him off. "Who gives a damn about my arm? I can't think of anything I could transmute that will please them. Everything just seems so simple and predictable. If I fight you, then they'll see my fighting skills along with my alchemy skills. This job is more then just about alchemy. You have to fight too."

She looked over at Al. "What do you think?"

"Um…"

"Don't drag Al into this," Ed said. "Okay. So you may have proposed the idea, but I still get to say whether or not I want to do it."

Myra's face fell. "Does that mean you won't do it? And to think we were actually starting to be friends," she said in a childish voice.

Ed stood there and thought the idea over. "No holding back right? Whoever wins it wins?"

She glared him. "If you even think about holding back on me I'll beat your sorry ass even worse."

Ed huffed and said, "Fine. I'll fight you."

Myra squealed like a little kid and hugged him. He froze like before, but she pulled back before he could even think about returning the hug. She danced around the small hospital room.

"Wow Ed," Al said. "You sure made her happy."

After a few moments she returned to normal.

"Now both of you get out. I need to change out of these clothes."

She grabbed both of them by the arm and shoved them out the door. She locked it and walked to her suitcase.

Myra pulled out a pair of long pants and a dark colored sleeveless shirt.

"I'm definitely going to have fun today," she said to herself as she changed and tied her hair.

•

"Ready?" I asked as I exited the hospital room.

"We were the ones waiting on you. We've been ready," Edward said as we walked down the hall.

I puffed at my bangs and glared at him from the corner of my eye. 'Smart-ass," I thought. 'Even more reason for me to want to pound you.'

The bell rang and everyone began walking to the yard that was behind the Command Center.

I watched as men made towers, weapons, and various other things.

'If I beat a State Alchemist at his own game I should have my license by the end of the week,' I thought.

My turn was the last one.

I walked up to the higher ups and said, "Sirs, for the Exam I will engage in battle with Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist."

One of them nodded and Edward and I were led to a mock battle ground.

"I warned you. If you even think about holding back I'll destroy you," I told him before the fight began.

"Don't get to cocky Myra," he said in a playful tone.

"Fighters are you ready?" a higher up said.

I nodded my head and said, "Yes."

Edward just nodded.

"Fighters, begin." The higher up cleared out of the area.

"Rule number one: never take your eyes off of your opponent," I said to myself.

I clapped my hands and hit the ground. A spear rose up and I armed myself with it.

I charged at Edward and swung the spear at him. I predicted the move he would make next, dodging, and hit his legs with the end of the spear.

He was surprised by the attack. He clapped his hands and changed the shape of his auto-mail arm, giving himself a sword.

I growled at him. "Well that hardly seems fair. You have better control of your weapon."

I dropped the spear and clapped my hands. I hit the ground and the ground around Edward began moving upward. I laughed as I watched him try to balance himself.

He jumped off of the risen ground and charged at me. I dodged just before his auto-mail sword sliced my chest.

"Rule number two: find your opponents weak point and use it against him." I clapped and hit the ground. A wall blocked Edward from getting to close. I clapped and hit the ground again, this time producing a simple pole. I clapped once more and hit the pole.

Edward came around the wall and I blocked him with the pole. He looked surprised when he tried slicing through it and nothing happened.

"My alchemy is different. My brother taught me how to focus in and change the atomic structure. Your steel arm can't cut through this no matter how hard you try," I mocked.

I pulled back and ducked before his auto-mail got to me. I took the end of my pole and jabbed him hard in the gut. He nearly doubled over.

I went around him and hit him hard in the back. He fell forwards and hit the ground. I stepped on his back in victory.

"Rule number three: find an opening and strike when you can. This round goes to Myra." I stepped off of him and poked him with the pole.

I growled at him. "I warned you that if you held back I would beat your sorry ass even worse. People never listen to me. I saw how you started that fight two days ago. This was supposed to be a fight with alchemy. The only alchemy you used was on your arm. You were hardly even trying weren't you? How despicable. I thought I could find someone that could beat me up. Turns out your just a coward."

He tried to get up, but I jabbed him hard in the back and watched him fall forwards again.

"You bastard! Now how am I going to get my license? Tell me that! If you were holding back they won't consider it a real fight! Did you do this on purpose!" I screamed at him. Angry tears spilled from my eyes.

Edward just lied there, staring off into the distance, blinking every so often.

I heard clapping from the direction of the officials. I looked up and saw Fuhrer King Bradley.

"That was quite a show you put on there Miss Loken," he said.

He was saying I did well? Even though he herd my opponent was holding back.

I dropped the pole and faced his direction. "I'm sorry sir, but this was no true battle. My opponent was holding back and not fighting with his full ability."

"He may have not used certain techniques, but he was giving his all. Now look at him. He's on the ground."

I looked at Edward. He was beaten down and still in the same position as before.

"You did very well. You've showed us that not only are your alchemic skills amazing, but also that you are a strong fighter."

I smiled at him. Then remembered Edward.

I panicked and bent down to him. "Are you okay? I must have hurt you pretty badly."

He moved his arms and began lifting himself up.

"You sure do know how to fight," he said in a weak voice.

"Oh thank god. I didn't break you," I said.

Edwards's mouth slightly twitched upward. I think it was supposed to be a smile.

•••

"Wow brother," Al said as he saw Ed. There were bruises all over him. "She really is strong."

"I told you! I've never once lost a fight," Myra said.

"I can see why," Ed said. Myra had come to visit Ed and Al that night. "What were those rules you were chanting about during the fight?"

Myra was sitting next to him on the couch that was in their room. "I learned to fight by going against the boys in town and my brother. I made some rules that I would follow in every fight. Rule one; never take your eyes off of your opponent. If you lose them, they could sneak up from behind you. Rule two; find your opponents weakness and use it against them. For you Ed, it was the auto-mail sword. Where you can attack depends on where you can move your arm. If I got into the spot where you couldn't get me then I wouldn't get hurt. Last, rule three; find an opening and strike. When I was against Ed, I had ducked down to avoid his auto-mail. I used the end of the pole and hit you in the weak point. Then I went back around and finished you off. Sorry about the extra bruises from me jabbing the pole into your back."

"It's okay. Now that I know how you fight, I'll want a rematch," he said with a smirk on his face.

"Not while you're like that though." She sighed and looked out the window. "I wonder if I made the cut."

"The way you beat me up they're bound to make you a State Alchemist," Ed said.

Myra puffed at her bangs and looked over at Edward. Her muscles were torn again and she had her arm in a sling. Ed was covered in bruises. The way she saw it, they were just two busted up kids that could use alchemy.


	6. Chapter 6

Once I was healed and officially released from the hospital, I had to go back to Central Command. There was some stuff I needed before I would officially be a State Alchemist.

I wore somewhat nicer clothes, meaning clothes that didn't smell like a farm, and met up with the man who had askes me about my wanting to be a State Alchemist.

Hia name was Colonel Baker. He'd been in Dublith because of rumors of an amazing alchemist. He just happened to be passing by while I was fixing the roof on my neighbors house. And so began the long walk to Central.

I solluted him when I walked into his office.

"At ease Loken."

I felt like a fool and put my hand down.

He chuckled. "Don't worry. I have some papers for you. I also have something else important." He opened a drawer and placed a file and the silver pocket watch on the desk. "Congradulations. You're one of us now."

I grabbed both items. I ran my fingertips over the millitary seal before hooking the watch onto my pants. I opened the file, my face making a confused expressioned as I read the official papers. "We hearby give the name 'Silver Steel' to Miss Myra Loken."

"I think it fits. The alchemy you do allows you to change the atomic structure. Never heard of such a thing. Myabe that's what tipped the scales and allowed you to become a State Alchemist."

I put the paper back in it's file. "It takes concentration and only works under certain conditions. Imagine a Periodic Table. I can only transfer the substance into a simliar element. For example I can't turn gold into carbon. No where near each other. The atomic structure itself has to be somewhat the same. If it's to unlike what I want it to be, it gets stuck and the atoms don't know what they are. It also takes a lot of concentration. I was barely able to turn the spear into something different."

He had nodded his head multiple times throughout my lechture, but in the end I knew he had almost no idea what I was talking about, even though he was an alchemist as well. Not a State alchemist, but he was able to do it.

He changed the subject after I tried once again to make some kind of sense. I just couldn't explan it to him. 'Maybe I should try to explan it to the guys. They might understand.'

"Well, Loken. In addition to your title and watch I've given you an assignment as well."

I oened the file and shuffled some pages around. "Sekia?"

"Yes. It's a mining area up north. The town itself is pretty large. Takes up a fraction of the Northern area actually. There have been some minor issues up there however, and because it's a simple investigation, we decided it would be perfect for your first job."

I puffed at my irritating bangs again. 'Damn hair.' I looked back down at the papers and noticed a train ticket. "So I'll be taking the train?"

He chuckled again. "Of course. We don't want you walking there."

I was suddenly grateful for my bangs. They allowed me to glare at the Colonel without him noticing. 'Damn him. That'll be the running joke around here for a while.'

I puffed my bangs away from my face and closed the file. A stupid smile was plastered on his face.

"Well good luck on your trip. The train is scheduled for tomorrow around noon."

I left his office and walked down the hall while reading the papers over. My body hit something hard and I fell backwards onto my butt. I groaned as I sxrambled to pick up the papers. "Damn it. What the hell..." I looked up to find the Elric brothers standing before me. O'd crashed into Alphonse.

I finished getting the papers and stood up. "Sorry about that. I wasn't paying attention."

"It's fine," Alhonse said.

"So where are you guys off to next?" I asked them.

Edward wasn't paying much attention. He was was looking down at the silver chain. "So you're a State Alchemist now," he stated dryly.

"Oh yeah. Baker said that the reason I got my State Alchemist's license is because I can change the atomic structure. Might also be because of the fact I don't need a circle, but I'm leaving that factor out of this."

I smiled at them before my bangs got in the way again. I growled and shoved them out of the way.

"Where are you going?" Alphonse asked me, his elder brother silenced with irritaion over his no longer being the youngest State Alchemist.

I looked back at the papers. "Sekia. I leave timorrow at noon. And I'm not walking," I said in a warning tone that let them know I didn't want them to joke about it too.

"Well good luck," Edward said.

I stared at him hard before grinning. "Same to you guys. I hope we can meet again sometime in the future." I began to walk away, but I turned around. "Don't miss me to much."

Edward scoffed. "Won't even think about you, so don't worry."

I glared at him before playfully slapping his left arm. "Well I have to go. Until we meet again."

I passed right by them and made my way to the hospital. My suitcase was still there.

•

I was sitting on an uncomfortable bench as I waited for the train to arive. I was passing the time flipping the lid of my watch up and down.

'So there's more to this thing than just amplifying alchemic powers. It gives you aomething to do.'

I heard a whistle off in the distance. I looked up and saw the train pull in. I had to wait for everyone to get off before I could get on. This gave me enough time to time my hair into my usual ponytail. Of course, with those damn bangs hanging down in front of my face.

I grabbed my suitcase and got on the train once we could get on. I found a seat in the back car. My jaw dropped when I looked out the window. "What the hell?" I mumbled.

"See you when you get back Myra!" Alphonse called, waving.

"Yeah! And come back alive! I want a rematch!" Edward yelled.

I stuck my head out the window as the train began to pull out. "You want me to kick your ass again I'll do it!"

I watched them until they were just faded images in my mind.

I got bored quickly. I tryed sleeping, but the shaking of the train kept me awake. I had a book, but I read the whole thing about four times due to my speed reading habit. I was able to recite lines from the character. I eventually fell into a dreamless sleep.

My head colided with something cold and hard. I was on the floor of the train.

The train had hit the brakes rather hard hard, causing me to fall on the ground with a reasonably loud thunk. I, of course, cursed the train engineer very loudly, causing the passengers around me to stare in my direction. I glared at them all before seeing a sign that read, "Welcome to Sekia", and realizing it was my stop we were at.

"Oh dammit!" I exclaimed, causing more stares. I grabbed my suitcase and rushed off of the train quickly.

Colonel Baker was right. The town was massive. The streets were lined with vendors. Of to the side was a path leading to a mountain.

"Help!" I heard a voice cry out. "Some one please!"

I wasn't the only one who heard it. Several people stopped what they were doing. A small boy about six years old came running down the path. "Some one help!"

I ruahed over to him. "What's wrong?"

Tears fell from his face. "It's my dad. There was a cave in."

"Show me,"I said. He nodded and grabbed my hand. He pulled me to the mine entrance. Sure enougn, the entrance had caved in.

I stepped over and examined what I was dealing with. I clapped my hands and hit the rocks. They crumbled into sand and men came falling out.

The young boy rushed to the man I asumed was his father. They hugged and caused me to feel mushy inside. I didn't like it and shook my head, trying to get rid of it. 'I will not get emotional on the job,' I told myself.

More tears came down the boys face, though this time tears of happiness. "Thank you so much Miss. How did you do that?"

"Alchemy," I said simply.

He got an amazed look on his face. The father came over to me. "Thank you so much. I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't been here."

It felt weird to be praised, and I stammered as I spoke. "I-I was just doing my, uh, job. Really. No need to thank me."

"What do you mean job?" The little boy asked me.

"I-I'm a State Alchemist."

The men all stared at me puzzled. Moments passed, before they broke out into laughter.

"Hahaha," I half-laughed. 'What the hell?' I puffed at my bangs before speaking again. "What's so funny?"

They all stopped. "You were being serious? But you're just a little girl."

That hit the nerve. I combusted. "WHAT THE HELL DOES MY HIGHT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING? I NEVER ASKED TO BE THIS SHORT SO SHUT YOUR TRAP!"

I puffed at my bangs and glared at them. They all had uncomfortable looks on their faces.

"Uh. I'm sorry. How about I show you to an inn?"

I nodded, back to being myself. "Thank you very much."

The guy didn't say anything as he showed me to the only inn the town had. I paid for a room and set my stuff down there before going back outside.

I thought back to the papers that I had gotten. There wasn't anything specific, but from what I'd read it seemed that things accurred during the night. I would have to be careful.

I'd walked around most of the town by the time night had fallen. Nothing seemed to odd.

It was during dinner that I realized what was really going on here.

•

'What the hell?' I thought as I heard gunfire in the distance.

I pulled out my coin pouch and paid for the food I was eating. I rushed out the door and was nearly hit with a bullet. A man dressed in all black was threatening a group of young women.

"Move!" He commanded. They began walking down the street towards the inn.

I bega to back up into the building, but more men were in the dining hall now. The lady at the front counter was close to tears, as one of the men had a gun held to her head.

"We could get a lot of money for a little girl like you. How many millions of cens do you think your life is worth?" The man behind me said. He grabbed my wrist and pointed his gun in my direction. "Don't even think about trying to run away."

I clenched my teeth and grinned. "To late asshole." I jabbed him in the stomach with my elbow, causing him to double over. He didn't let me go, but his grip losened. "This is for calling me a little girl!" With my automail leg I kicked him in the crotch. He fell to his knees and I felt a rush of victory when he let me go.

In a high-pitched voice, the men commanded the others. "Don't just stand there! Get the bitch!"

"Shit,"I muttered under my breath. I took of down the street, dodging bullets as they flew past my head.

If it weren't for the guns, I would have alchemied the hell out of these chumps.

Running as fast as I could wasn't helping. These guys were wearing suits, yet their legs were significantly longer than mine.

'Damn my tiny body!' I cursed to myself. 'Stupid fricking short legs!'

"Get back here!" one of the lackies shouted.

"Kiss my ass!" I screamed in response.

I heard the mechanics in my leg creak, and I was reminded of the homunculi back in Central.

"No way in hell am I letting that happen again," I told myself. "Damn leg. Next time I see Edward I have to get him to show me his mechanic."

I was reminded of what Edward had told me back at the train station. "Come back alive."

With his words as a reminder, I forced my legs to move faster. I started picking up distance and soon the lackies were a thing of the past.

I turned down an alley to throw them off. I clapped my hands and hit the ground. A massive wall shoved its way in between the two buildings.

I sighed as I finally had the chance to breathe. I slumped against a wall, and though my muscles were happy to relax, my skin hated me for it. There were several spots on my shoulders and arms were bullets grazed me. I was so foccussed on running I hadn't noticed.

I sighed and thought, 'This sure is one hell of an inspection. Can't wait to tell Baker about this.' After thinking this I felt guilty. I couldn't stay here and let more girls get sold. I was going to do the only thing that made sense.

I would have to surrender.


	7. Chapter 7

•

I waited for my breathing and heart rates to go back to normal. I could still hear gunfire.

The bleeding in my shoulders stopped and I stood up. I clapped my hands and hit the wall I had made. It crumbled to dust and I stepped out into the open. A man with a gun ran over and grabbed me. I glared at him from under my bangs as he chained me.

Everything inside me said to kick him in the crotch like the other guy, but I clenched my teeth and surrendered.

My plan seemed simple. Let them take me to their headquarters, beat all the guys into piles of body parts, then contact the millitary.

The man stuffed me into the back of a truck. My jaw dropped as I saw at least a dozen others girls, all cramped inside, their wrists and ankles chained. They were scared when they saw the man.

He pointed the gun at me to get me inside. I stepped up to get in and heard my leg complain. It was a subtle noise, and unless you'd heard about it before you'd have never known that's what it was.

The back of the truck didn't have any windows, so I felt completely lost as the men drove us away.

'I wonder if the Colonel knew about this before giving me the job? Of course some one would have complained about night-time kidnapping.'

It felt like forever had passed when we stopped. The men opened the truck and we stepped out one by one into a large garage.

"Keep an eye on them," one guy said to another.

The other guy nodded his head as the first walked off with the rest.

'Here we go,' I thought to myself. Being in the back of the group gave me an advantage. The chains were fairly lengthy. I clapped my hands and touched the loose chain. The familiar blue light shined and the metal crumbled into powder. I smiled as I clapped again, this time hitting the chains around my ankles. They crumbled as well.

'Step one acomplished. Now to kick those bastards asses.'

I clapped my hands and hit the ground. A wave of energy shook the ground as it moved up and trapped the guy that was supposedly keeping an eye on us.

I smiled at my work. The girls around me looked shocked.

"That was amazing," one of them whispered.

"It's my job." I hit the ground again and a metal spear rose up. I grabbed hold of it and ran out the exit.

This was where things were going to get messy. Blood would be spilled, I knew that the moment I planned everything. Be it mine or theirs, as long I left in one piece. Or almost, because I had no clue how long my leg was going to last in another fight.

Four men were walking around outside, about to go to the girls. I scowled as I recognized on of the men as the one I'd kicked.

"You," he growled through clenced teeth.

The men pulled out guns. I wasn't scared in the least. Guns were only good at a distance. You couldn't go hand-to-hand with them very easily.

I charged at one of the guys. At the last minute I flipped the spear and jabbed him in the solar plexus, the body's weakest point. I wasn't a killer, and I hadn't hit hard enough to break into his diaphram. It was enough to get him to collapse, which was enough for me.

I exhaled as I jammed the tip into the thigh of another. He screamed loudly, and I felt dirty for causing him that pain. The guilt passed a second later when I remembered it was them who were the bad guys.

"You little brat!" kicked-in-crotch guy growled.

My grip tightened and I kicked him there once again. "I thought you would have learned to not call me little!" The kick didn't do as much damage this time, and while he still had doubled over, he had pulled the gun on me. I moved when he pulled the gun out but his aim was pretty good for a guy who had lost the chance of ever conceiving kids.

I screamed in pain as a bullet shot through my side. Things were getting fuzzy, but I ignored it.

While he moaned in pain I raided the pockets of one of the other guys. I found a moist rag; it'd obviously been soaked in chloroform.

My lips turned up in a sly smile as I shoved it in front of the guy's face and relaxed as he passed out. I did the same to the others and tossed the rag aside.

'Hahaha! Brought down with their own weapons!'

"Damn it. What do I do about the bodies?" I asked no one. After moments of thinking I decided to just leave them lying on the ground.

There was one guy missing that I hadn't beat the crap out of. It was one of the guys that had been chasing me earlier. I decided to let the authorities deal with him if they ever found him.

I went back into the garage to check on the other girls. They were all frantic with worry about where I had gone.

"Are you okay!?" one of them asked in reference to the fact the bottom half of my shirt was soaked in blood. I waved her off, but really my vision was starting to blur.

I didn't want to waste time freeing them one at a time, so I had them gather close so that the chains all touched. I clapped my hands and turned the chains into dust like mine. We weren't safe yet. I searched around for a telephone. Of course there wasn't one in this room. I told them to stay put while I searched the rest of the building.

There was an office on the first floor with a telephone sitting on the desk.

For some reason, it just seemed too easy. I felt like there should have been some sort of trap. But unfortunately... _luckily_, there was no trap. Things were truly that easy.

I dialed the emergency number for the Northern millitary. I told the head officer about the situation. He promised to send help ASAP.

The only thing that concerned me was the missing thug. Where in the hell had he gone?

I slumped against the desk, my breathing ragged and my heart beat fast. I clutched my side, and winced. The bullet had gone fairly deep and I didn't know any medical alchemy that could help with this.

The world became a combination of distant shapes and shadows, and sounds were starting to become echoes. I had lost a good amount of blood over the course of a couple hours and my world was fading.

Eventually, I blacked out.

**A/N: I just love cliffhangers, don't you all agree? Haha! Please review! I love hearing about how I'm doing! (Yea there are some spelling errors. I'll fix those when I can)**


	8. Chapter 8

•

My mind went numb and I couldn't feel anything. I was in a place of blinding whiteness. It reminded me a bit of Truth's domain, but I knew that wasn't where I was.

My conciousness began to come back to me. I realized where I was when I breathed. A hospital. The smell of it burned my nose.

"I hate hospitals," I mumbled to myself.

I blinked a few times to get things in focus. It was definitly a hospital.

'How did I get here?' I thought. The last thing I remembered was blacking out. I forgot everything after that, if I was concious at the time.

My body felt stiff as I sat up. I stretched my arm, but I could only go so far. There was an IV line stuck in my hand.

I flopped back against the pillow. Questions went through my head as to how exactly I was found.

The door to the room opened up and a doctor came in. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "I didn't expect you to be awake yet."

My bangs flew into my face. I didn't bother trying to blow them away. It seemed pointless.

The doctor poked her head out the door and called for some one. I looked questioningly at the door until the Colonel came in.

"Well, this is a surprise," I thought out loud.

"I had you trasnfered to the hospital in Central yesturday. You've been unconcious for three days."

"Wow." I couldn't say anything. I was to shocked to believe that three days of my life were spent in a creepy hospital.

"I came to congradulate you on catching those men. Apparently they were part of a business that sold young ladies as slaves to rich men. As punishment for their crimes all of the men have been put in the prison." He smiled in a way that made him seem happy, before he had to return to his half-drunk and half-serious personality "You have multiple bullet wounds, so you're being required to stay the the hospital for the time being." He smirked. "Though I doubt you'll be getting anywhere with only one leg."

My mouth fell open as I reached down to my leg. All I found was my stump and it's the connector. "Damn it," I whispered.

"We had your leg looked at while you were under. The mechanics in it were fried and that thing won't work at all. So once you heal, I suggest getting some help and going to yout mechanic."

My mechanic was down in Rush Valley. I couldn't even remember the name of his shop. He was just another gear-head wanting to get some cash out of me. I didn't have a choice then.

I remembered something. "Is Edward Elric back in town?" I asked.

The Colonel stared into space as he thought about it. "Yes. He had a job, but he returned the day before last."

"Could you send him down here?" I asked in an innocent voice. "I need to ask him about somwthing"

He shrugged. "I suppose." He turned to walk out the door. "Get better soon Loken."

He closed the door behind him.

•••

Ed was surprised to see Colonel Baker. He'd never talked to the people in the millitay that weren't directly connected to him.

"What!" he exclaimed. "The hospital? It was just an inspection right?"

"There were some... complications. You can get her to tell you when you see her."

Ed and Al followed the Colonel to Myra's room. She had bandages on her arms and torso.

Th Colonel left the room. When he thought it was safe, Ed yelled, "What the hell did you do to get put in the hospital! It was an inspection so at most you would have had to walk around the town!"

She glared at him and yelled back, "I was kidnapped by a bunch of men trying to make quick cash by selling girls off as slaves! Then I got grazed by dozens of bullets and shot in the side! Does that answer your god-damned question!"

Ed stared at her in astonishment as she slumped against the pillow. She puffed at her hair as she sulked.

"Sorry," he said in a calm tone of voice. "I didn't know what all you had been through. I'm glad you're okay now."

Ed realized what he'd said when Myra turned to look at him with an expression between shock and confusion. Her face had turned bright red.

"Um," she begn after few moments of akward silence. "So I wanted to know if you guys would be willing to take me to your mechanic."

"Why do you need my mechanic?" he questioned.

"Well..." Myra removed the blanket from her bottom half to reveal a missing leg. "As you can now see I'm back down to having only one leg."

Ed stared at her shocked. "How did that happen?"

Myra rubbed the back of her neck with her hand. "I'm going to go out on a limb, no pun intended, and say that it was my walk here that caused all of this. Going weeks without any maintanence can kill something like this easily."

Ed sighed. "I guess we could head out once your released. Is that okay with you Al?"

His armor head rubbed against the neck as he nodded. "That's fine. We should call up Winry though. If she sees you coming up, she'll think you're the one who broke your automail and throw a wrench at your head."

Ed grimaced, remembering the last time he destroyed it.

"So once I'm out we'll go?" Myra stated.

"Yup."

She grinned before telling them could go.

Ed hadn't seen, but Al noticed that Myra's face had stayed red through out the rest of the conversation.


	9. Chapter 9

**(A/N: Hiya readers! So this is kinda a filler chapter, but it does have some importance to it. I'm still trying to figure out where this story is going. So hope you enjoy! Oh yeah! Before I forget, ARMSRONG SMILEY *:-{) . Isn't it awesome! I was going through the symbols for my phone and texted it to Lexi (The Oceandream Alchemist). I have invented the newest emoticon! And please review! I want to know how I'm doing!)**

•

While recovering, my dislike for hospitals and doctors never lessened. I doubted anything would change that fact, even after they had saved me a handful of times as of now. I would always feel a pain inside me.

The day after I was released, I got my train ticket to Resembull.

The ride was long and uncomfortable. Not only was I still sore and had one leg, but remembering the comment Edward had made when I last saw him made the situation awkward. It didn't help that I was sitting next to him either.

After countless hours, we got to Resembull at almost 2:00 in the afternoon. The town wasn't much, and everywhere you looked there was beautiful scenery. The only thing that made it bad was the fact the tiny station and the auto-mail shop were no where near each other. A short distance would have been fine, but no. We walked for what seemed like forever up and down hills. Technically, I hobbled. Edward and Alphonse walked. Al was nice enough to carry my suitcase for me, so it wouldn't get in the way of the crutch.

At the top of one last massive hill, sat a big house with an old sign that read, "Rockbell Automail".

A black and white dog was sitting on the porch next to a woman who was puffing on a pipe. The dog saw the boys and ran up to us. He kept me from going forward and began sniffing at the lose pant leg. He eventually moved away and I caught up with them.

"Welcome home boys. Looks like you've brought us a new customer." The woman stood up and extended a hand to me. "Pinako Rockbell," she said.

I returned the gesture and shook her hand. "Myra Loken. Pleased to meet you."

She led us inside and pointed at the couch. "Sit down. I'll have my assistant come and get your measurements." Pinako walked into a separate room. "Winry! Come on out! Our favorite customers brought a friend."

I sat down as she said this and felt relieved that I didn't have to move.

I heard footsteps and a girl with blond hair and blue eyes about my age came from the next room. She immediately noticed the flat in the pant leg.

"Looks like you're in need of a leg," she said with a smile.

I felt slightly uncomfortable being here with her, but it passed. "Yeah," I said. "I paid a lot for a leg that didn't last me very long."

Winry had me sit on the couch so that both my legs were extended. She pulled my boot off and rolled the legs of my pants up. She inspected the connector and frowned. She pulled out a small note pad and jotted down some notes. Next she pulled out a measuring tape and wrote down the lengths.

"Don't move," she ordered before going back into the next room.

"Don't think I could if wanted to," I stated, making a smart-ass comment.

She returned carrying a spare leg. It would attach to the connector and allow me some mobility while the real thing was being built.

After the spare was hooked up, I sat on the couch normally. Winry sat next to me.

Quietly, she asked "How did it happen?"

Images from that night jumped into my mind. I winced slightly before shaking my head to get rid of them.

"It's the result of recklessness and sorrow," I replied. After a few seconds I continued. "If you ask me there was also pressure involved."

We were silent for a while; the only sounds were the ticks of the clock.

I broke the silence. "You're Ed's mechanic, so you know about how it happened, right? And also about Al?"

"You know then, about what they did?" She glanced at me.

"I know better than you may think." If she knew about them, then I felt that I could trust her as well.

She was staring at me now. "You mean... you did..."

I nodded. "Yeah."

After a little more silence, she asked "Do you mind if I ask who it was?"

I breathed deeply. "It was my older sister. She was in an accident. The accident didn't kill her. She died in the hospital from an infection. My big brother got this idea that we could bring her back. I was skeptical the whole time, but I didn't want to turn against the only family I had left." I refused to let tears fall. "In the end, my brother's body was taken with my leg."

"Sounds like Ed and Al," Winry commented.

I smirked. "Yeah, except I'm the little sibling."

She allowed a slight smile. "Why did you become a State Alchemist? I know why Ed did it, but what motives do you have?"

I sank into the cushions of the couch and puffed at my cinnamon bangs. "My brother used to joke with our sister about how he would get a job as a State Alchemist, that way we wouldn't have to worry about our financial situation. When Colonel Baker allowed met take the test, I couldn't refuse."

I paused allowing Winry to ask me more questions. When she had nothing to say, I asked.

"Ed never explained to me why he joined the military. Could you tell me?"

She shook her head. "It's not my place to talk. How about you ask him after dinner?"

As if on cue my stomach growled. Winry snickered and stood up. I followed her lead, but nearly stumbled on the spare leg.

Winry began laughing at me as I tried to walk.

"Arg!" I exclaimed. "I can't wait to have a leg again!"

"Don't worry. I'll have it ready for you in about four days."

I gaped at her. "That fast?"

"Don't underestimate me and Granny. We are the best auto-mail mechanics even though other people claim the same thing. The only thing that'll keep you will be the reconnection."

I groaned and reached down to the stump. Just thinking about the nerves connecting made me feel achy all over. "Erg."

"Sorry about that."

We walked into the kitchen and Winry had me sit down in front of a massive bowl of potatoes.

"Peel these," she commanded.

I did everything she told me to do, mainly because she was what determined my getting back to Central.

I sat in that same chair and peeled various vegetables for the stew that Winry was making. I was wondering where the boys had gone, just as they came into the kitchen.

Ed handed a bag to Winry. She smiled and pulled out a lump of meat. "Perfect," she said.

I averted my eyes as she sliced into it. I was fine when meat was fully cooked, but if it looked bloody or anything I felt squeamish.

I walked out of there as fast as my spare leg would allow me once the vegetables were finished. A while later Winry called us all to the dining room to eat.

I felt out of place. It had been nearly two years since I ate with so many people. I stayed quiet, my thoughts keeping me occupied while I chewed on warm potato chunks.

•

After dinner I wanted to help with dishes, but Winry waved me away. I took advantage of this and found Edward. He was sitting on the couch reading a book. It reminded me of when we went to the library. He was completely zoned out like before, the movements of his eyes hypnotic.

After a handful of moments, I remembered why I initially came in.

"Um," I said breaking the silence. Edward looked up at me. "I was wondering if you tell me why you became a State Alchemist."

He stared at me, somewhat confused. "Why do you want to know?"

"You guys are so secretive, and I've told you everything. I just want to know." I shifted my standing position and folded my arms. I wasn't going anywhere until he told me.

He realized this and sighed. He set the book down and looked at me. "You've heard of the Philosopher's Stone, right?"

"Of course I have. Why?"

"After Colonel Mustang found us, something he said made sense. I could access restricted research and books. I decided to get auto-mail and take the test."

I nodded. "What does that have to do with the stone?"

"If I could get to that restricted work, I could possibly find out where to get a Philosopher's stone. With that amount of alchemic power I would be able to get Al back into his original body."

"What about your arm and leg?" I asked as my bangs got in my face again.

"Honestly if it's between me or Al I'll obviously choose Al. He wants to get me my original body back, but as long as he's alive I'm fine."

I smiled on the inside. He cared that much for his little brother.

"That's why. Once he's back I'll be happy."

"What about after?"

It was a simple question, yet he didn't have a clear answer. "We'll figure that out eventually."

Of course. How could I expect anything less?

I sighed.

"That it?" He asked.

I decided to mess with him while I could. "Aw. I thought we were friends. You really want to get rid of me that badly?"

He stared at me weird again and I felt victorious as I left that room, stifling laughter. It was fun to mess with him, even though there was a part inside that wondered if it was really just that.

These thoughts were forgotten when I discovered that Ed and I would be staying in the same room for the night.


	10. Chapter 10

**(A/N: Thanks to Ed' .Kitten, England101, and to DinRose for your reviews! If not for you guys I wouldn't have been able to fix things)**

I couldn't sleep.

It wasn't because of Ed and I being in the same room. I was fine with it because I knew that nothing would happen. It wasn't fact that this room was usually used for patients to recover in after surgeries. It was the clean hospital smell.

I glanced over at Edward, who was sleeping soundly in the bed across the room. I didn't understand how he could stand it.

Giving up on sleep, I hobbled out into the hall, where the smell wasn't as bad.

Alphonse was sitting in the hall. He looked up at me. "What's wrong Myra?" he asked.

"I can't sleep in there. It smells."

If he could show expressions, I was certain he would have had the same confused look Edward gets on his face. "What do you mean?"

I sat down across from him. "It smells like a hospital in this part of the house." I hugged my knees to my chest.

"Oh," he said, slightly understanding now.

We were quiet for a while, neither of us knowing what we should say. Some time passed before Alphonse started up the conversation.

"Do hospitals bring up some bad memories?" he asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah. They remind me about my sister." I felt anger that was buried deep inside me rise up. "That damn doctor didn't know anything. Even a kid like me knew that all she needed was some medicine and for her injuries to have been cleaned better." I said this through clenched teeth. My hands were balled up into fists.

"You really loved her didn't you?"

Almost immediately I said, "More than anything."

"Could you tell me about your family?"

I nodded. "Her name was Katrice, though my brother and I only ever called her Sister. My brother's name was Drake, and I just called him brother. My brother was a few years older than me, and my sister was about twenty years older than me. My parents wanted more kids after she turned fifteen. Kat took care of us as if we were her own kids. She worked as a teacher at a school near the edge of town. She loved people, but never got married."

"What kind of accident was she in?"

I held my breath, attempting to calm down. "There was a fire at one our neighbor's houses. She went to help them. She got some major burns on her back. They had nearly healed when they got infected. It spread through out her and killed her from the inside out."

I was crying now. Not noticeably. They were tiny tears that dribbled down the corners of my eyes.

I rubbed my face and stood up. "Thank you for letting me talk. If you ever have something on your chest, you can tell me. Okay?"

"Okay. I will."

I hobbled down the stairs and into the living room. My eyes drifted over to a shadowy figure that I knew was the couch.

I sat down and allowed myself to sink into the cushions. My body relaxed instantly. I was no longer in a hospital. I was in a house.

Lying down, I felt at home. The smell of the couch reminded me of what my house had smelled like before I left.

I fell asleep there comfortably.

•••

Ed woke up the next morning to see the bed opposite him was empty.

'Where did she go now?' he thought.

After getting dressed, Ed walked down stairs to the living room to see it was empty.

'I must have gotten up before everyone else."

He was about to sit on the couch, but was surprised to see a sleeping Myra.

'When did she come down? And where's Al?'

His question was answered moments later when he saw Al sitting outside.

"Hey Al," he said as he walked up to him.

"You're up early," Al responded.

"I guess." He paused for a moment. "Did you know that Myra was sleeping downstairs?"

"Yeah. I'm the only who covered her up with the blanket."

"Why did she go down?"

"She said it was the smell."

Ed made a confused face. "Smell? What do you mean?"

"The smell reminded her of hospitals and caused some unpleasant memories to surface."

"Oh." The confusion was still there. "How do you know this?"

"She told me. You were asleep and we talked in the hallway when she walked out."

Things fell into place. "By memories do you mean about her sister?"

Al nodded. "Yes. That's also why she gets uncomfortable around doctors."

They stayed there until Winry called for them to come back inside for breakfast.

**(A/N: So this chapter's also filler-ish, but it explains a lot about Myra's issues. And now look down the screen. What do you see? OH! LOOK! It's… not big and blue. It's a box... HUH? *sigh* Oh well. Please comment! If you don't I'll stick Myra on you! After she gets her leg back of course.**

**Myra: Hey Hopeless! When are you gonna get to that? I hate this spare leg!**

**Me: Calm down! I'm working on it! **

**Winry: No you're not. I'm the mechanic here.**

**Me: Arg! You know what I mean!**

**Anyway... Please review! Constructive criticism welcome!)**


	11. Chapter 11

**(A/N: Hello readers! This is chapter 11. Finally, right? I started it early in the year and only just came back around to it. **

**So, still figuring out what I'm gonna do. Until I do, please continue reading and reviewing! Just a warning it's pretty much a filler, but there's more Myra background. Plus, what story doesn't have some part that doesn't really fit?**

**I think I need this here: Disclaimer- I don't own FMA. The copyright belongs to Funimation (anime), Viz Media (publisher), and Hiromu Arakawa (mangaka). Myra, Colonel Baker, and Sekia is all mine. List may get longer.)**

•

I woke up to hear Winry yelling at the brothers to come inside.

At first, I had no clue where I was. My body registered it as "home" but my mind argued and said "You're crazy. You left home over a year ago."

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and stretched my arms. Mid-yawn, I remembered that I was in Ed and Al's hometown.

"Oh," Winry exclaimed when she turned into the house. "I didn't notice you were down here. Was there something wrong with upstairs?"

"Uh yeah." I pushed the blanket over and sat on the couch normally. "The smell was bothering me."

"The smell? It seemed fine to me when I went up there earlier."

"Well, it smells like a hospital."

"Oh," she said with understanding in her tone. "I've gotten used to it. I guess it can be overwhelming to some people."

I breathed a sigh of relief. I wouldn't have to explain to her as well. Something told me that if they had already met up with each other, Al had told Ed.

I hobbled up the stairs and went into the room I had originally been in. My suitcase was at the foot of the bed. I lifted it up and sniffed. The smell of my clothes wasn't terrible, considering the amount of time that had passed since the last wash, but something told me I should get around to that soon.

I pulled out a shirt with short sleeves and one of my pairs of long pants. I changed and felt comfortable.

The hospital smell hit me hard when I closed my case. My nose burned and my lungs began grasping any bit of air they could.

I pinched my nose and hurried downstairs.

Edward stared when he saw me coming down the stairs as if I was on fire. I dropped my hand and breathed easily now that the air was back to normal.

'That hasn't happened since the Cicely incident,' I thought.

The Cicely incident happened six months after I got my automail. I had gone to the hospital to visit a neighbor, Cicely Rhodes, who'd had a baby. I had gone to visit her in the hospital along with the woman I'd been living with. When we had gotten into the room Cicely was staying in, the smell triggered it. My nose burned and my lungs couldn't handle it. Some doctors said it was an allergic reaction to the chemicals in the air. I still don't think that's it.

Ed continued to look at me funny. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah," I said before I started coughing. My lungs wanted to be rid of the poisonous air that was trapped inside them. After a few moments I inhaled deeply.

"That didn't come across as 'all right' if you ask me."

I scowled at him. "I'm perfectly fine, and I never asked you." I was being bitter, but I didn't care. He'd get over it.

Edward shook his head and walked away.

I sighed and made my way to the door. I needed a break. A walk would do me some good.

Clouds covered the sky and casted a shadow on everything. The tips of the surrounding mountains had disappeared. I was in awe of the scene. I hadn't seen anything like it on the walk to Central. There was nothing but towns and various cities. Apparently the only place you could find an area so remote was in the east.

I stayed outside until sunset, skipping out on lunch. I spent the time wandering around along the dirt road. Before turning around I went to the graveyard. I was curious.

I saw two gravestones next to each other, both with the last name Rockbell.

"Are these Winry's parents?" I thought out loud.

A few meters down, I saw a gravestone with the name Trisha Elric.

"So we're all on the same boat," I mumbled. They all lost their parents.

As I continued, I never saw anything in relation to Edward and Alphonse's father. I became wondering what became of him.

Everyone was frantic when I got back. They had apparently been looking for me. Winry scolded me for not being here to help on dinner after I explained where I'd gone.

I still had no experience with people, and again I ate in silence.

•

I was placed under house arrest the next day. I spent the time watching Winry as she worked on my leg. I was interested in how the wires worked and they would line up with the nerves.

I hovered over her the whole time. The only other person I'd seen so focused was Edward on a book.

The only time she stopped was when she had to help make lunch and dinner.

I did the same thing on the third day. Eventually, meaning sometime after lunch, my being there was irritating. She revoked the house arrest order and told me to go away.

Of course I didn't leave. I continued watching her. Every now and then she'd turn around and ask why I was still there. For some reason she didn't believe me when I said I was interested. Eventually she got up and threatened to hit me with her wrench.

"Okay! I surrender!" I held my hands up and left the work area. She slammed the door in my face.

The boys had disappeared some where. I didn't care, but I realized the reason why Ed didn't like being out here. It was so boring. **(A/N: they haven't explained much to her yet)**

I went outside and found Den sitting on the porch. He was happily wagging his tail as I rubbed his head.

"You look as bored as me," I said to him. I stood up and went out in the yard.

A thick stick caught my eye. I looked from it to Den and a smile hit me. "Wanna play?"

His tail wagged as if he understood.

I jogged over to the stick and grabbed hold of the end. "You know how to fetch right?"

Den's tail continued to wag.

I pulled my arm back and threw it at least 20 meters. The dog happily ran after it and brought it back.

Satisfied with this distraction, I threw the stick a total of 32 times. Afterwards, both Den and I were to tired to move very far. I lied down on the ground with the panting dog next to me. I rubbed his head again.

I relaxed and stared at the sky. The clouds had gotten darker in the last couple days.

"Make it rain, melt the pain," I sang. Sister had a song that she sang when it rained. She believed that rain had some kind of healing powers. Clouds watered dying crops and after the rain ended they seemed to be brought back to life. She was never religious, like me and my brother, but she did believe that the world had it's own way of doing magic.

A drop of water fell on my face, followed by many more.

I laughed as rain fell on me. I stood up and began to dance around.

I sang Sister's song and twirled around. I laughed, remembering the first time I had danced like this. It was years ago. It was around the same time my brother had taught me about alchemy. The rain was just a soft drizzle. Sister and I held hands and danced around while she sang. I danced around until I was soaked and my clothes were sticking to my skin.

I hummed while I made my way back into the house. I was still humming when I got inside. Edward, Alphonse, and Winry were all in the living area. Their eyes immediately focused on me.

My hair and clothes were dripping onto the floor and I had a big smile on my face.

"Uh..." Winry said.

Alphonse was silent.

"What the hell?" Edward mumbled.

I smiled at them. "It's raining outside." I laughed as I stated the obvious.

"Yeah we know," Edward said.

I held my breath and went up the stairs, not wanting a repeat of the other day. I peeled off my dripping clothes and changed into something dry. Afterwards, I went into the bathroom and twisted my ponytail. Water dripped from the end and down the drain.

My nose burned slightly, a warning that I wouldn't be able to handle it if I stayed here for too long. I hurried back downstairs before anything horrible had the chance to happen.

Winry was in the kitchen, finishing up dinner. I walked in and helped her set up the table.

That night, the sky had cleared up. I went outside to star gaze. I saw a total of ten shooting stars before I went inside.

I slept easy that night, preparing for the pain I would be stuck with later tomorrow.

**(A/N: So yeah, it's a filler. Sorry but after she gets her leg things will start moving. I promise. ) **


	12. Chapter 12

**(A: N: Hiya! So from now until I get lost again the chapters will be part of what's going on, with filler elements. Meaning it doesn't seem important. I've got an idea of how I want things to work; now I just need to focus and not get story-side-tracked; very deadly to stories everywhere. Really. Haha. Laugh. **

**Critical reviews welcome by the way! Don't just throw a line in and fish for a compliment. And now we start off seeing Myra from Winry's POV! Enjoy!)**

•••

Winry had Myra's leg finished before lunch the next day.

She pulled the spare leg off of Myra and got the leg into place.

"Ready?" She asked.

Myra exhaled and closed her eyes tightly. Nodding her head, she gripped the arm of the couch.

Winry counted down from three and connected the new leg to the port.

Myra's grip on the arm tightened and groaned. Breathing, she opened her eyes and smiled meekly. "God, I hate that." Winry returned the smile and stood up.

"Try it," she ordered.

Myra extended the knee and rolled her ankle. "Wow," she said, the pain forgotten. She stood up on it, wincing slightly from the tender nerves. As she walked around the room she said, "I love you Win. This leg is so much better then my last one."

"It's going to cost you know." Winry stretched her arms. "Takes a lot of work to make that kind of thing."

"Totally prepared for that." She did a cartwheel and landed on her automail. "I recently got paid for my first job, so it should be enough."

Winry nodded. "You seem pretty hyper."

Myra stretched her leg. "Eh. I hate staying still and doing nothing. Even after I first got my automail I didn't take it easy. I would keep going outside to help out my neighbors even after I was scolded. I'll take pain if it means moving."

Winry looked the small girl with an eyebrow raised. 'How can she be like this? Grown men don't move this much after a reconnection.'

Myra did a handstand and stretched her legs around. She stepped down, wincing slightly, but still going strong.

'Where did those two find this girl?'

•

Winry kept staring at me like I was an alien. She must have been wondering how it was that I could get over the pain in my leg.

I wasn't over it. It still hurt like hell, but I had been stuck hobbling for the past few days and I was happy to have a leg I could actually use.

I went outside and did a couple more cartwheels. I wished that I was back in Dublith so I could "play" with the boys in my neighbor hood; I would pound the crap out of them and they'd be okay with it.

I kicked the air with my automail and remembered kicking that one kidnapper in the crotch. I smiled at myself, clapped my hands, and hit the ground. A familiar flash of light shone before a spear came out of the ground. I grabbed hold of it and began slicing the air.

"Hey Myra."

I turned and nearly sliced Edward's nose off. His hands were held up in surrender.

"Watch it!" He growled. He pushed the tip away from his face and said, "I just came to tell you that lunch is ready."

"Oh, okay." I dropped the spear and ran back to the house, leaving him behind.

•••

Ed stared at Myra as she ran off toward the house. A moment ago she'd looked like she wanted to kill him. The next thing he knew she was running off like a little girl.

'Maybe she's bipolar?' he thought as he walked back.

Myra was sitting down chewing on a sandwich when he walked in. The milk glass in front of her was empty.

Ed began laughing. Myra and Winry turned toward him.

"See Winry? Drinking milk doesn't do anything for your height."

Myra looked at him confused. "Milk? What does milk have to do with anything?"

"Everyone keeps saying that I'm short because I don't drink my milk." He felt victorious as he spoke.

Myra looked at the milk glass, still puzzled. "How does milk do anything for you?" she thought aloud.

Winry defended her position. "Milk help your bones grow. It's a scientific fact."

Myra glared at the glass. "Annoying milk." She clapped her hands and touched the bottle. The glass changed into the shape of a cow. "Go back to where you came from."

•

The next day we left the Rockbell's house. I paid them the night before. It would take some time for the money to get to them, but it had legally been transferred from me to them.

Edward, Alphonse, and I all took the train back to Central. We had to check in with the Colonels.

The ride back was as long, but not as uncomfortable.

Baker had arranged me to stay with Hughes and his family, seeing as I still didn't have a place to call my own. I was fine with it, even though I felt Hughes was a bit insane.

One could say I was only slightly pissed off when I discovered that Mustang and Baker had conversed with one another.

Edward and I were called into Baker's office a few days after our return. Mustang was standing next to Baker's desk. He had an expressionless face that creeped me out.

"Do you need me for something, sir?" I questioned my commanding officer.

He cleared his throat and leaned forward in his chair. "Loken, my colleague and I were talking and we decided that it would be best if you and Fullmetal were partnered together."

My jaw dropped. I didn't bother paying attention to Edward as I ranted. "Sir! I'm perfectly capable of working by myself! My trip to Sekia proved that!" I slapped my palms against the top of his desk and gaped at him.

He cleared his throat again. "As true as that is, you still got into trouble and were unable to work. As a soldier we understand that you will get injured, but even so you've been out of work for nearly two weeks. Because of this, I feel that partnering you two will keep you both out of too much trouble. I'm sorry if you disagree."

I backed away and returned to my original position. "Understood, sir."

It was Ed's turn to fume. "What about me? Why do I have to be stuck with her?" he said pointedly. I glared at the back of his head and imagined that blonde braid of his bursting into flames. "I mean she's the one who got herself in trouble, and I have my own work to do!"

Colonel Mustang folded his arms and said, "I actually think that it would be good for you. For the past three years it's been you and Al. Get used to having Loken around, cause you two will be together until further notice. Just to let you know, this was a suggestion from the Fuehrer." **(A/N: not sure if that's spelled right. Don't shoot me!)**

My face contorted itself into a look of confusion. "Why would the Fuehrer be concerned?"

I hadn't meant to say this aloud. It was a thought that found its way to my mouth.

"We don't know," Baker said. I felt relieved that it wasn't taken as an insult, but didn't show it on the outside. "He told us that it would be good if you stuck together."

I sighed, causing my bangs to fall down. 'We meet again, hair,' I thought, the last moment forgotten as I puffed at my hair.

"Any more questions?" Mustang asked his face still creepily plain.

Neither of us said anything.

"Then Fullmetal, you're free to go," Baker said. He then turned to Mustang. "Don't you have paperwork to do?"

His face finally showed emotion as he sighed. He looked pissed off as he walked out.

I waited for them to be gone and the door to shut before speaking. The door clicked and I released a breath. "Sir, do you need something?"

His weird half-drunk personality came up. "You realize I don't like this any more then you do? That Mustang guy is kind of shady. Also, be careful." Here's where the half-drunk part kicked in. He doesn't drink though, so his personality is pretty weird. "Loken, if that Fullmetal kid does anything screwy I give you permission to kick his ass."

He sounded like a 32 year old version of what my older brother would have been. It was kind of creepy and funny at the same time.

Baker said this with a sly smile plastered on his face. "Understood?" he said firmly.

I tried to contain my smile. "Understood sir."

"Get going then." He shoed me away and I walked away.

Edward and Al were in the hall. I looked at them and sighed.

I puffed at my bangs as I thought, 'Just great. I get stuck with the walking, talking can and the shrimpy blonde.'

**(A/N: So how's that for a change in direction? At first I was thinking it would just be a story about another State Alchemist, but now I've stuck Myra with Ed and Al. **

**I'll give you an idea of why I've done this; I'm going with FMA Brotherhood. Because Bradley is a homunculus, they don't know it yet, and is connected with Father he can make it easier to keep an eye on the sacrifices. This is the reason Myra and Ed get partnered.**

**Before I forget, look down the screen. What's there? It's... not blue or big. It's a stupid box! What the fx! Still wondering why they changed it. Anyway... please review! You can cuss me out on what a bad story it is, 'cause I can take criticism, though if you do please explain why it sucks cause then I'll fix it. ARIGATO!)**


	13. Chapter 13

•

Apparently, Edward and Alphonse had something they needed to do with out anyone else. Of course, I snooped around to figure out what was going on. I wasn't going to allow them to get away that easily.

I followed them to the library.

I became curious as I watched them from around a corner.

'What the hell are they doing in there?' I wondered.

I stayed behind my corner for another minute, before feeling stupid because no one was around to see me anymore.

I walked up to the building and hopped up the steps.

Edward and Alphonse were standing in front of the information desk.

"You mean Sheska?" the information lady said. "Sorry. She was fired last week. She might be able to help out though." **(A/N: don't know exact timing). **

"Do you know we can find her?" Edward asked in a demanding tone.

The lady sighed and pulled out a pad of paper. She scribbled down an address. "Here ya go. Good luck with that."

Edward grabbed the piece of paper and they turned to leave. They gaped when they saw me standing a couple meters away. "Myra!" they exclaimed.

I folded my arms across my chest and glared at them. "What are you two doing?" I questioned.

Edward stuffed the paper into his pocket. "Nothing. We just wanted information on something." He put on an innocent face and tried to change the subject. "So why are you here?"

I kept my glare. "I'm following you two. So what's that paper you have crunched up in your pocket?"

"Oh, um, it's nothing."

My stare hardened and they tensed up. "You liar. What is it?"

Edward's expression grew dark. "It's none of your damn business."

I frowned and turned into a little kid. "Oh come on! I've told you guys all about me and what I do! We're partners now so I demand you tell me!" Towards the end of my rant I stomped my foot and placed my hands on my hips.

The corner of his mouth twitched before he and Alphonse began laughing.

I stared up at them. 'What the fuck?' I thought, using the one cuss word I rarely used. I crossed my arms once again. "Um, what the hell is so funny?"

His laughter died down some. "You're such a girl.," he said as we exited the building.

I fumed and started to rant. "Well thank you Captain Obvious! But what the hell does that have to do with anything? Yes, I'm a girl! Suck it up and deal with it!"

The lauthing stopped but I knew they were still laughing on the inside.

I reached over and smacked Edward on the back of his head.

"What was that for?" he complained as he rubbed where I'd hit him.

"For being an idiot. I would have smacked Alphinse as well but I can't reach him." I stared straight ahead, my fist in a fist in case they made any small cracks. Luckily they didn't.

I heard foot steps coming from behind us. "Mr. Elric!" a voice called.

I stopped walking and turned around. Two millitary officers were coming towards us.

"Damn it," Edward mumbled, not turning around. "I thought we'd lost those two."

"Hm?" I looked from him to the officers. "Um, why are you guys being stalked?"

Edward huffed as they came up. "Mustang stuck guards on us. While you were gone on your mission we had a run-in with Scar. We had to go back to Resembull and get my automail fixed. Came back and now these two follow us every where."

I took a moment to process this. "When you said Scarr you meant that serial killer targetting State Alchemists?"

"Yeah. Be greatful you haven't met him yet."

I nodded.

The two officers caught up to us.

"Sir. We've been looking eveywhere for you. Why did you run off?" the girl asked.

"We were trying to get away from you guys," Edward mumbled.

I looked over at the guy and stuck my hand out. "Myra Loken. Pleased to meet you," I said tuning out Edward's griping.

"Uh, Sergent Brosh," he stammered as he nervously shook my hand. He released it and a look of realization swept over him. "Loken? You mean the Silver Steel Alchemist?"

"Uh yes."

"Wow," he exclaimed. "I'd heard that the newest State Alchemist was female, but I didn't expect a little girl."

My fist clenched and I came close to exploding. "I'm not a little girl! Why does every one say that? I'm fourteen! That's hardly worthy of little!"

They were all staring at me now. 'Damn. I was so close to hurting someone.'

I sighed and puffed my bangs away. I turned to look up at Edward. "So where are we going?"

•••

The entire ride to this girl's apartment I was crushed between Alphonse and the car door, with my cheek pressed against the window.

Once we stopped I opened the door and literaly fell out.

I pushed my self up and stuffed my hands into my pockets. "So this chick used to work at the National Library?"

"Yup," Edward responded. "The woman at the front desk said that she might know sometheing about Doctor Marcoh's research notes."

Edward had explained the importance of the notes to me and the others in the car. The National Library had been burned down and the notes were destroyed.

I knocked on the door and waited for an answer. Nothing.

"Uh. Hello? Miss Sheska?" I knocked on the door again, this time pressi ng my ear against the door. I still didn't hear anything.

Edward came up and turned the door knob.

"What are you doing!" I exclaimed as he opened the door. "This is breaking and entering!"

My jaw fell open when I saw the apartment. There were stacks and stacks of books everywhere.

"What the hell?" I exclaimed. "How could anyone live here?"

I heard a rustling noise and a weak, "Please help me!"

"She's underneath the books!" Edward exclaimed.

All five of us began digging through the books, trying to find her.

•••

Myra was the one who found Sheska. She was at the bottom of a pile.

Sheska was a skinny girl with short brown hair and wide rimmed glasses.

"Thank you so much," she said, bowing on her hands and knees. "I thought I was a goner."

"No problem. We just wanted to ask you something," Ed answered. He folded his arms across his chest. "While working in the library did you ever see anything by a man named Tim Marcoh?"

She put her hand on her chin and thought. "Let's see. Marcoh, Marcoh... Oh yes! I remember now. It was a massive pile of hand written papers and notes."

Ed and Al were happy for a moment. "So they were there!" Gloom fell over Ed. "Which means it was destroyed like everything else."

Sheska appeared confused. "Did you want to read them?"

"Yeah. Sorry to waste your time," Ed said as he began to walk away.

"I read them once and I remember everything that was in them."

Ed and Al's faces lit up like candles. "Really!" they exclaimed at the same time.

"Yes. I can remember everything that I've ever read. It's pretty much the only thing I'm good at. If you really want to read the notes I could write them all down for you."

"Yes! Please!" They were pratically on their hands and knees begging. Myra watched from a distance, stiffling laughter as she watched them.

•

Over the course of the five days it took Sheska to rewrite the notes, I went to visit the brothers. They didn't do very much. There was one day when I watched them spar against each other. Even that was boring because Alphonse kicked Edward's ass.

There was one day when I wanted to explore the city. It wasn't the best idea and before I could even take a step outside, I was stopped by the Second Lieutenant.

I got fidgity and couldn't stop moving around. I paced around the room for nearly an hour before I snuck outside. I was dissapointed in the large city, seeing the size I'd expected something a bit more lively nothing was going on that could entertain me.

The lecture I got for sneaking out was the most entertaining thing thay had happened to me in almost a week.

When we visited Sheska, I was surprised to see a mountain of papers sitting on a table. She had a bright smile and her face.

"Here ya go! As you can see there's a lot of notes and it took me forever to finish writing them all down. Tim Marcoh's 1000 recipes!"

Ross and Brosh's faces fell.

"A cook book?" Brosh said. "We went through all this trouble for a cook book?"

Edward looked over at some notes and flipped through the pages. "Sheska. You're positive that these notes are flawless?"

"Oh yes! I remembered everything that was in them."

"Then thank you very much." He grabbed a stack of papers. "Com on guys, let's go."

Alphonse grabbed one stack and I lifted up another, though not as big.

Edward stopped before leaving. "Oh yeah." He set the notes down and pulled out a little notebook and his pocket watch. He quickly scribbled something down on the paper before giving both items to Ross. "Take the watch for I.D and go to the bank. Tell them to withdraw that amount from my funds and give it to Sheska."

He lifted up the stack of papers once again and we headed off to the library.

"These notes are in code aren't they?" I questiond as we walked into a seperate room in the library.

"Yup," Edward responded. "Now to decifer them."

(•one week later•)

•

"Why does this have to be so damn hard?" Edward moaned as he rested his head against the desk.

We had spent the past week in the library trying to figure out this guy's code. I was signed up as Ed's partner so I ended up helping them out. Unfotunatly, this god damn code was harder than hell to figure out.

I was on the floor surrounded by books and a note pad. I had drained about five pens of their ink from writing so m**any **notes down.

"This thing is pure gibberish," I grumbled, rolling over onto my back. My bangs flew in my face. I didn't bother trying to get them out of the way. My brain was too sore from all of this thinking.

I heard a knocking on the door and turned my neck. It was Ross.

"The library will be closing soon. You guys can keep going tomorrow," she said in a softish voice.

I listened to their chairs rub against the floor.

"Come on Myra," Ross demanded.

"Hmm," I grunted. I pushed myself up and walked out the door behind them.

'Great. I get to go back to Hughes' place.' I was annoyed with this, but I loved Gracia's cooking so I would live.

•

On the tenth day, I cracked the code, and I'd never felt such a mix of emotions.

"Myra? What is it?" Edward asked me.

My eyes were wide as saucers as I looked back at my note page. Ecward came over to see what it was. I handed him the pad and held my knees close to my chest. "No. No. No. No, that can't be," I muttered. I shook my head and closed my eyes tightly.

"Dammit!" He exclaimed. He threw the notepad against a stack of books. The books came tumbling to the floor as Edward sat behind me, his face in his hands.

Ross and Brosh came running in. "What happened?" Brosh exclaimed, staring down at the mess.

"We did it," I said weakly. "We cracked the code."

Their faces lit up. "That's a good thing isn't it?"

"There's nothing good about this dammit! This really is the devil's research!" Edward exclaimed, slamming his fist against the ground.

"W-what is it?" Brosh stuttered, terrified of 'pissed off' Edward.

"The main ingrediant for a Philosophers stone? It's human lives."

**(A/N: 2029 words, not including this authors note! I'm impressed with myself. That makes this my longest chapter yet.**

**My uncle Robert loves FMA almost more then I do, so when he saw my 3-in-1 manga volume he asked me if he could borrow it later in the week. I thought that was also hilarious.**

**So you people only get one chapter this week instead of the usual 3-4. Stuff has come up, including a funeral and camp. So TBSSYL. To Bad, So Sad. You'll live. **

**Also please type something in the box at the bottom. Critical or pleasent works, but once again, please have a valid reason for hating it. Don't just say "I hate it 'cus it sucks". Say why it sucks.**


	14. Chapter 14

**(A/N: And another chapter! I haven't gotten any new readers it seems, but I'm a happy duck if even two or three people keep reading. I wrote a book last year with 17 chapters in it, and this book has barely gotten anywhere in 14. I'm happy with myself *:-{)**

**Ok. I shall now stop rambling and go on with it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to FMAB; just Myra and other various extras and places.)**

•••

The Second Lieutenant and Sergeant stood in the doorway, gaping at this.

"How could the Government authorize permission to research something like this?" Brosh exclaimed. "We have to tell someone."

"No," Ed commanded. "You can't tell anyone about this."

"But sir," Ross started.

Ed cut her off. "Just please! Forget everything that you've heard." He held his face in his hands and waved them off.

•

I stuck around at their hotel room for a while, all three of us trying to make sense of what had happened.

I was sitting on the bed and Alphonse was sitting on the floor next to the couch Edward was on. A depressing shadow seemed to surround the room.

"It's like the universe has its own special way of torturing us," Edward commented at one point.

"Sorry, you guys," I whispered. "It must be so disappointing to discover this."

"Why are you apologizing? It's not as if it's your fault," Edward said trying to reassure me.

A pounding on the door shook us out of the depression.

"Elric brothers and Miss Loken! It is I! Please open the door!" Armstrong's voice called.

"Oh damn it!" I exclaimed.

"What do we do Brother? Alphonse questioned.

"Nothing that's what. The door's locked, so if we ignore him long enough..."

The door knob broke off and the giant man broke through, Ross and Brosh were standing behind him. All three of us screamed at the sight. I dropped to the ground and rolled under the bed, hiding from the sight before me.

Edward went up to the two of them. "What happened to forgetting everything?"

"We're sorry. It's hard to stay quiet when someone like him asks," Brosh said.

"Oh Elric brothers! It's such a tragedy!" Armstrong was crying waterfalls. I stayed underneath the bed, hoping that he wouldn't see me. "Who would have imagined that the Philosopher's Stone concealed such a terrible secret!"

I felt a twitch in my nose. 'Crap.'

"Achoo!" I sneezed. I felt vibrations as the floor shook under Armstrong's footsteps. He lifted up the bed and I shrank away to the wall.

"Miss Loken!" He moved the bed to the side and I stared up at him, trembling. "I heard how you were the one that cracked the code! How shocking it must have been for you to find out!"

I stood up and tried to move away. "Yes. It was very shocking. Well, I must be going. Bye guys!"

Armstrong intercepted me and blocked the door way. "How cruel the truth can be sometimes!"

Edward's eyes lit up. "The truth." He put his hand to his chin and thought a moment. "Doctor Marcoh said to find the truth hidden beneath the truth. That must mean there's something more to this." He looked up at Armstrong. "Do you know where Marcoh worked at?"

Armstrong pulled out a map and unrolled it on the coffee table. He pointed to a spot. I stepped over and read where his finger was at. "Doctor Marcoh worked at laboratory number three."

Edward shook his head. "Al and I visited all the laboratories a while back and there was nothing suspicious there." He looked the map over and I watched as his eyes narrowed at one spot. He jabbed a finger at a building on the map. "This building here. What's it used for?"

"It was supposed to be used as a fifth lab, but the building wasn't structurally sound, so it was shut down," Ross said. "What makes you so sure it would be there?"

His finger moved to another spot. "It's right next door to a prison."

"What does that have to do with anything?" I questioned, my bangs in my face once again.

"The main ingredient for a Philosopher's stone is live humans, right? And the bodies of prisoners don't go back to their families? What if instead of being executed they could have secretly been transported to the fifth lab."

Ross's face paled. "You think they're using prisoners as ingredients."

Edward held up his hands. "Hey. I don't like talking about this any more than you do."

Armstrong grabbed Ed and me by our collars and glared at us. "Don't you two even think about going over there! You're not to leave this hotel. And that goes for you as well Miss Loken." He commanded in a deeper voice.

I held my hands up in defense and let my mouth fall open as if I were offended. "I'd never! I just got out of the hospital a while ago and I don't plan on doing anything that'll send me back!"

I was lying. Now that I knew where this stuff could be happening, of course I wanted to go check it out. I was dying to find out more about this thing.

He continued to glare at us as Edward tried to convince him as I'd done.

"Hmm," he growled before releasing us. "These two will continue to guard you until we are sure you're not going anywhere."

I sighed. I didn't know about the other two, but the only thing that could stop me was another kidnapper shooting me in the side.

Ross, Brosh, and Armstrong left and we stayed in the room for a little while.

I watched as Edward pushed a bed over to the window. He stripped off the sheets and tied them into a rope.

"Myra, stay here," Alphonse ordered.

I glared at them and I folded my arms over my chest. "There is no way in hell I'm just going to sit here and be a good girl. You may need me for something."

Edward sighed. "Just let her come with Al. She'll follow us if we ignore her. Either way she comes."

I smiled and hopped up from the spot I was sitting on, a victorious feeling laid down on me.

Alphonse slid down the makeshift rope first, followed by Edward.

"Are you coming?" Edward whisper yelled.

It was a two story drop. I wasn't afraid of heights, but the rope made me nervous.

I grabbed hold and stood at the edge of the window sill. I clenched hard and began to slide down.

I held my breath as I went down. A crackling sound alerted me. I looked above my hands. The knot was unraveling.

"Oh shit," I mumbled. I wasn't even half way down when the rope snapped. "Ahh!" I cried as I fell to the ground.

"Myra!" Edward nearly shouted. He moved quickly to catch me before I hit the ground.

"Ow," I groaned as my back collided with his metal arm. He set me down.

"It's better than hitting the ground," he stated. "And you're really light."

"Was that calling me little?" I questioned with my fists clenched.

Alphonse interjected. "Will you two shut up? Let's get going!"

I blinked at his reaction before running to catch up.

•

We got to the walls surrounding the lab and were faced with an issue

"How will we get up there?" I questioned, staring up at the massive wall.

I heard Alphonse's armor clank as he moved. He laced his fingers together and Edward stepped up. Alphonse pushed Edward up and he flew through the air. He landed on top of the wall. He began to pull the barbed wire apart.

"Your turn," Alphonse said.

I nodded and stepped up. I steadied myself against his shoulder.

"One, two, three," he counted. He shot me up into the air and I landed next to Edward. He was lowering the unraveled barbed wire so that Alphonse could climb up.

After I'd jumped down I wandered to the front. The door was boarded up.

"Hmm." I looked around and saw an air vent. "Hey guys!" I whisper yelled, trying to get their attention. "Over here."

Edward and Alphonse came running over. "What is it?" Edward asked.

"I found a way in," I said, pointing to the vent.

"What about the front?" Alphonse said.

"It's boarded up. This seems like the only way inside," I explained.

"Works for me," Edward stated. He climbed up the pile of boxes beneath the vent and pulled the metal cover off. "You'll have to stay here Al. You won't fit with your big body."

He crawled inside as Al got depressed. "It's not like I asked to get this big."

I set a hand on Al's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry Al. We'll be back before you know it." I hopped up and crawled in behind Edward.

°•°•°

"Hey 48! 57! You two awake?"

"Hm? What is it?" 48 responded.

"We have company."

"Oh yay. Think we'll have some fun this time?" 57 asked as her hand clenched her knife.

"Maybe. There are two kids, a boy and a girl, along with a big fella. Kinda funny looking."

"You're one to talk you know," she retorted at him.

"Whatever. 48, you can have the boy. 57, how about you take the girl? I'll turn the big fella into mincemeat."

57 moaned. "Why do you get to have all the fun?"

"Deal with it chicky and just go kill it. Been a while for you huh?"

"Yup. Can't wait."

**(A/N: Okay, so not as long as the last chapter, but I like leaving chapters off on places where things get suspenseful. So 57 is another prisoner turned into a guard. You'll hear more about this lady and her story in the next chapter. **

**So in case you didn't notice, this • means Myra's POV, this ••• means Ed/Al third person, and this °•°•° is mystery third person.**

**So yeah. We've arrived at the Fifth Lab, my favorite part of the series. I just had to stuff Myra into this situation. Working on the next chapter as you read. **

**Please review/comment on this! I love to hear how I'm doing, though I'll keep writing this whether you want me to or not.) **


	15. Chapter 15

**(A/N: Hello my fellow fan fictioners! It is I, The Hopeless Alchemist! I keep meaning to edit my name and add the "The" to it, but I haven't gotten around to it. **

**As you read I am sitting on a lounge chair beside a pool. This chapter was so stuck in my head I couldn't break to go and swim.**

**So any way, welcome back to the world of Amestris and the Fifth Lab. I added a new character in the last chapter and I'm sure you're dying to know more about this one. So onward I shall go with the writing. Disclaimer was last chapter so not going to bother with this one. I made my point then.)**

•

"Good grief this vent is tight," I complained. I was still following Edward through the vents. Al was outside waiting for us to find something and get back.

"I know. If I was normal size this would be impossible. Good thing I'm small..." He froze for half a second before exploding. "Oh no!" He exclaimed, his voice bouncing off of the close walls around us. "I just called myself a puny little pipsqueak!"

I tried to keep back my own mild depression, because I was plenty shorter than he was.

I nudged his leg to make him go on. He began moving again.

After a few moments I heard the vent groan.

"Uh oh. This can't be good." One of us was going to end up going down along with a section of vent.

The metal beneath me began to tremble. "Oh damn!" I exclaimed.

The vent gave out and I fell down along with it, screaming the whole way down. The metal hit the ground and broke apart. My front collided with the floor and knocked the breath out of me.

"Myra? Are you okay?" I heard Edward ask.

I pushed myself into a sitting position. After feeling my torso I stuck a thumb up at him. "I'm good. Nothing broken. Might have a few bruises though. You keep going; I'll look around over here."

"You sure?"

I waved a hand at him and stood up. "I'm fine dumb ass, just keep going."

He muttered something I couldn't hear before continuing.

I looked around the large room. There was a large circle with marking I'd never seen before drawn on the floor.

"What the hell is this thing?" I said to no one. I'd never seen a circle like this one. It didn't look like something for human transmutation, which I'd thought would be around in this place. I'd seen those circles before when we tried to bring back my sister. This was entirely different.

I heard a hollow clanking and turned my head toward the sound.

"Oh how interesting," a female voice said. A thin, red colored suit of armor stepped out from the shadows. "You really are a little girl. Not my preference but you'll do."

She drew a sword and aimed it at me. "Hurry up child," she commanded. "I'm allowing you to gain your own weapon. I don't normally do this sort of thing, but I've been sitting around for nearly a year. I'm bored and am allowing you to entertain me."

I kept my eyes glued on her as I clapped my hands. I touched the ground and brought up a spear.

"How primitive to use such a thing," the lady in the armor commented.

"You're one to talk." I armed myself and held my gaze, looking for any weak points she might have.

"Hm. Well, let's begin." She came forward and swung towards my middle. I backed away and held up my spear to block her next attack.

I recoiled and backed away. I was too slow as her sword sliced into my flesh leg.

"Damn!" I exclaimed as I kneeled down. There was now a tear in my pants, a deep cut, and blood seeping down my leg.

Pushing myself up, I swung towards her and hit the chest plate. I expected to cut through, but got nowhere.

'Damn. Not hard enough.'

I moved back only to have her slice again, this time it was a cut that stretched across my chest and ended at my waist. I was grateful it didn't go deep. My shirt soaked up the blood.

I groaned from the pain and clapped my hands against the spear. The material morphed into a harder substance.

'This should work.'

I went after her again, but this time when she swung the sword it sliced my cheek. I winced as blood dripped down my face.

"How you hanging in there kid?" She taunted.

I glared and kicked her in the torso with my automail leg. I wobbled some as I balanced on my injured leg.

She stumbled backwards, giving me the opportunity to attack. I swung my spear in the air before launching it at her. The spear stuck in her leg and she fell back.

"I knew it," I stated as I limped forward. I twisted my spear before pulling it out of the armor. I leaned against the weapon, it being the only thing keeping me up

"Was it that obvious?" she questioned in a cutesy voice. She grasped her sword, only to have me knock it out of her hands.

"It was the sound the armor makes when you walk. Reminded me of a friend of mine." I jabbed my spear into her arm and allowed it to get stuck in the floor. It stabled me some more.

"Really? How interesting."

"So now that I've pretty much won, are you going to tell me who you are?" I blinked before squinting my eyes. The amount of blood loss was causing my vision to get fuzzy.

"Might as well," she sighed. "I'm known as number 57, though when I was alive my name was Valarie Delacroix. At least that's what my many husbands knew me as. To the police and military I was known as 'Black Widow', a mass murderer. You see, the first time I killed anyone was an accident. It was my first husband. I was cooking dinner one night when I tripped. He was in front of me and the knife I had in my hand was driven into his chest. At first I was devastated. I'd killed him, but I was relieved because he was an awful man. So I then began to marry terrible men and kill them, ridding society of the dirty sum. No one found out for a while. When they did, they didn't see things my way. I was sentenced to death, but instead of dying my soul was simply yanked out of my body and put in this distasteful armor. I now lie before you here."

I glared at her as she took her free hand and shifted the chest plate. In the center of the back was a red transmutation circle. "This is my blood seal. It's what's keeping my soul bound to the armor. Break the circle and you break the bond."

I was shaking as I spoke. "I don't care about blood seals. Tell me something about the Philosophers stone." I had to get some kind of information that I could take back to the guys.

"That's what they all demand. However they all end up dead before they get to that point. I'm impressed girly. You're bleeding on everything you touch right now, yet you're still standing." She sighed. "Well girly, I'm no alchemist. How about I tell you everything about the people running this place?"

"That works." I took a deep breath and leaned even more on the spear, the world only shapes and colors at this point.

"The ones who ordered me and the others in my position..."

She never finished her sentence.

I gasped as I looked up at the homunculus Envy. He had thrown a sword at the torso of 57's body.

"Don't mind me. Just getting rid of the loud mouth," he said.

"You! From before!" I exclaimed, pointing a finger in his direction.

"Hm?" He stared at me for a moment. "Oh yeah! You're that little brat from a month ago. How's life?"

"What the hell is going on here?" I demanded, slightly pissed off that he called me little.

"If you got this far then you should know already." He turned to leave. "Get lost kid. We need you alive for things to work out."

I was in no shape to pick a fight with this guy. As he walked away, I began to sway. My grip on the spear dissolved and I fell to the ground. My eyelids felt heavy as I stared up at him.

"Damn it kid! I told you to get lost." He came forward and lifted me up over his shoulder. "I still have to catch up to Lust."

Envy walked out the room and down a hall. The tall woman with black hair and big boobs was standing in the hall.

"Why can't sacrifices do as they're told?" She commented.

My vision was fading quickly at this point. I was also losing feeling in my leg and torso, where the cuts were.

Time went by and I passed out.

•••

Ed gaped as Lust's fingers cut through number 48's helmet, cutting him off from finishing his sentence.

"48, you know better than that," Lust said as her finger's retracted and brought the helmet to her.

"Brother!" The chest half of the body cried out.

"Oh look," Envy commented as he walked in from behind her. "It's the Fullmetal Pipsqueak."

Ed's eyes were drawn to the fact that Myra was draped over his shoulder.

Envy dropped Myra to ground. Her clothes were soaked in blood and her face was deathly pale.

Envy picked up the dropped sword and walked over to it. "You idiot. You could have killed an important sacrifice." He turned the sword so that the blade was facing down. He stabbed the blood seal repeatedly. "You could have ruined the whole plan!"

Ed sat there trembling at the sight as blood dripped down from the cut above his eyebrow. When Envy and Lust came towards him, he leaned against the wall behind him for support. He stood up to face them.

"What plan? What do you mean by sacrifices? Why are we so important to you people?" He demanded his voice shaky from the blood loss. He glared at Envy as the homunculus leaned forward to stare him in the eyes.

"Looks like the pipsqueak wants a fight. But that's not necessary. Someone could get hurt."

Ed growled at him. "Don't call me pipsqueak."

"Then what would you prefer, eh pipsqueak?" Envy taunted.

Ed kicked out his automail leg and nearly hit him.

"Hey! I just said there's no need to fight."

"You started this fight." Ed clapped his hands to transmute, when his right arm fell to his side, limp.

"Hahaha! Lucky me!" Envy chanted. He hopped over and grabbed Ed by his braid, shortly before kneeing him in the stomach. "Be happy your arm's busted. If not for that you wouldn't get off so easily."

Envy released his braid and Ed fell to the ground in a heap.

"Never forget that we allowed you to live," Lust said to him.

Ed shook as he turned his head to look up at them.

"We can't have them poking around here anymore. The building will have to go."

Ed moved his head and glanced at Myra's unmoving body, the last thing he saw before he passed out.

•••

The entire building began to shake and crumble.

"Al! We need to go!" Ross grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away.

"No! My brother and Myra are still in there!"

"What! They're in the building!" The wall next to them fell to pieces. A figure came walking up to them.

"I've got some presents for you guys!" A man came walking over from the rubble. He was carrying both Myra and Ed, one on each shoulder.

"Brother!" Al exclaimed as the man set him down on the ground.

The man stood up and faced them. "Both of them have lost a ton of blood but I don't think they're in any danger. Just get them both to a hospital."

Ross bent down to check on Myra. Her clothes were stained with blood and she had almost no color to her face. Ross lifted the girl's wrist and checked for a pulse. It was slight but there.

Ross turned to face the man and thank him, but he was gone.

Brosh came running over to them. He gasped at the sight.

Ross stood up and slapped him on the arm. "Sergeant, stop gawking and help me get them to the hospital."

He nodded to the Second Lieutenant and kneeled down to the girl. He lifted her up and carried her to the car waiting at the front.

'We are going to be in so much trouble for letting them escape,' was all that he could think as they drove away from the pile of rock that had once been the fifth laboratory.

**(A/N: Ha ha! I have broken into the 2000 range once again! I'm impressed with myself, if I may say so. **

**Well I don't know about y'all, but I've had quite the week. Also note that I will be unable to do anything story related the week of July 8th. AASTC at NC State babies! If you have no goddamn idea of what I'm talking about, that stands for All Arts, Sciences, and Technology Camp. Total nerdness! Haha! **

**Well thanks for reading so far and I promise to publish a bunch when I get back from camp. Please review!)**


	16. Chapter 16

**(A/N: Mwahahaha! I've got another chapter for you now! It's not a filler though because it's slow it may seem that way. Kinda evil of me to put in a fight scene one chapter then kick it down to hospitals the next. But hey! That's how the real thing works! **

**So I'd already been rewatching Brotherhood, and at like episode 30 I was getting lost with where I was on my story. Now I'm back near episode ten. I don't know exactly because I'm not keeping track of numbers, but as I write I'm were Ed's in the hospital and Winry has to come to put in the missing bolt. Sigh, stupid Winry. **

**So any who, I just had Myra get her ass kicked and right now she's passed out in a hospital. Better wake her up!)**

•••

Ed was glaring at Brosh and Ross, who were both standing beside his hospital bed.

"Looks like you can finally sit up," Ross commented, causing Ed's glare to harden.

"What happened to the fifth lab?" He growled.

"Uh. Well, sir. There was a explosion and now it's just a pile of pieces."

Ed partially exploded. "Dammit! That means we went through all of this to find nothing!" He felt a twinge in his wounds and moaned with pain. "Arg. This isn't fair. I was so close to the truth! I shouldn't be lying around."

Ross an Brosh looked at each other knowingly.

"Fullmetal Alchemist, sir!" They chanted at the same time. "We appologize in advance for this!"

"Huh?"

Ross's hand came flying as she slapped him on the cheek. Brosh winced as she did so, waiting for Ed to come at them.

"You acted like a selfish child and are alive only because you were lucky!" She shouted at him. Her voice softened as she contiued. "Stop trying to do everything by yourself. Learn to lean on others. Like us. Not all adults are evil. You can trust some of us." **(I had to include the mushy bit.)**

She and Brosh stiffened and chanted at the same time again. "That is all sir! Please forgive our abusive words and actions."

Ed sighed and looked down at the sheet. "You're right. I was being a child. I should be the one appologizing to you two." He suddenly tensed and looked up at them. They gulped as if he were going to kill them. "Why isn't Myra getting this speech?"

"Um, sir," Brosh began. "Miss Loken isn't well enough. She's slept for a majority of the time she's spent here, waking up only a couple times at most."

"Oh. I hadn't heard about her at all and assumed she was fine," Ed stated.

"She was pretty close to death when she got to the hospital," Ross said. "There was a serious chest wound that contributed to a major loss of blood. She also had some pretty bad wounds on her leg."

Ed nodded. "What about Al?"

"He's fine, but he's been acting somewhat odd."

'Odd? I wonder what's bugging him?'

"Um. May I ask what my punishment is? For slapping you?" Ross asked nervously.

"Huh? Punishment? I deserved it, why would I punish you?"

Both Brosh and Ross looked relieved as he said this. "State Alchemists carry a rank equivelent to that of a Major," she explained.

"I didn't get my license to push people around, so don't worry. You can talk to me like I'm a kid if you want."

"Huh. Really?" She said with a smile.

"I guess we were scared of the brat for nothing," Brosh stated.

'They adjusted quickly.'

•

My eyes opened and I woke up again. My nose twitched and I sneezed. I groaned as I moved, my chest wound throbbing.

I heard the door open and I turned my head. It was the doctor with a glass of water and pain meds.

"Oh good. You woke up just in time," she stated. She set the water and the pills on the side table so she could help me sit up. I groaned again. "Sorry hun."

I reached to the grab the glass and took a sip. I stuffed all the pills into my mouth and swallowed them down. I finished the water and relaxed into the pillows behind me.

"So how are you feeling Myra?" she asked as she sat down.

"Really sore. And I have a headache."

"It's the lights. Your eyes aren't adjusted to them yet."

I nodded and closed my eyes. "How's Edward?" I asked.

"He's much better than you. He's been able to move freely for a day or so now. In fact I saw him in the hall on the phone with some one a moment ago."

"That's good." I was happy to hear that he was okay. The reason we'd gone there was for him and Alphonse. If he was still messed up I'd feel bad that I was better before him.

"Well seeing as you've slept for nearly a week I should say this, but try to get some more rest. It'll help your injuries heal faster."

The doctor turned the lights off and left the room. I stared up at the cieling for a while, waiting for the pain to go away.

•••

Winry's jaw dropped when she saw Ed all bandaged up.

"What kind of trouble have you been getting yourself into!" She exclaimed, allowing her luggage to fall to the ground.

"I, uh, told it you it was a pretty rough fight," Ed stammered.

"But the hospital! Geez Ed!" Her face fell and she began to work on his arm.

After she had put the missing screw in its hole she asked, "So how's Myra doing? Surely you haven't driven her away that fast."

Ed stiffened. "What are you talking about!" he questioned defensivly. "And I haven't seen her in a while. We got partnered up together though. She's, uh, also in the hospital."

"What!" Winry exclaimed. "You dragged Myra into your issues!"

"Hey! She came on her own free will and we never asked her to come."

Winry sighed. "I'll have to find her later." She bent his arm back, testing its range of motion. "So where's Al?"

"I haven't seen him in a while either. It seems like something's bothering him though."

"Hm." She finshed up the work on Ed's arm and he sat up.

He rolled his shoulder and stretched. "Thanks Winry. You're the best."

Hughes waltzed into the room with his usual greeting. "Yo! I heard you had a pretty blond girl servicing you in your room."

Ed's face paled at this. "She's just my mechanic!"

"So you seduced you mechanic?"

"Ack! No! I didn't say that!" he exclaimed, frazzled.

Hughes ignored him and stepped over to Winry. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Maes Hughes."

They shook hands. "I'm Winry Rockbell. Pleased to meet you too."

Winry began to pack up her supplies and leave. "Well I'd better be going. I still have to find a place to stay."

"Oh!" Hughes said. "You can stay at my place. Myra's not there right now so the guest room is free. My wife and daughter would love to have you."

"Uh okay."

He started to go off about his daughter. Hughes grabbed Winry and pulled her out the door and down the hall.

'He looks like a kidnapper,' Ed thought as he watched his friend get dragged.

•

After a couple days my injuries seemed to heal almost completly. As soon as I could I made my way to Edward's room. He was eating and Alphonse was telling him to drink his milk. **(Also had to add these scenes into the story)**

"Hi guys," I said as I walked in.

They ignored me completly.

"You're lucky Al. You didn't have to do anything to get that big," Edward said.

This hit a nerve. I noticed automatically.

Alphonse stood up, knocking his chair down. "It's not as if I asked for this body!"

Edward looked up at him, a shadow hanging over him. "You're right. It's my fault. I'm sorry. But don't worry. I'll get you your body back soon."

"That's what you always say but how can you be so sure!"

I'd never thought I'd see the day when Alphonse, the calm brother, would explode.

"Look Al. I promise I'll get you your body back. Trust me on this..."

"Trust you? How can I trust you when my existance could be a lie? What if I'm some artificial soul you created? You said you had something you wanted to tell me. I think I know what it is now."

I gaped at him. "Are you and idiot!"

They continued to ignore me.

The shadow surrounding them got darker.

"That's what has been borthering you? You really think that? Fine." He pushed the tray table away and stood up.

Winry was standing in the doorway. Edward walked over and pushed his way out.

"Ed! Wait!" she called after him.

I got up from where I was sitting and chased after him.

"Edward!" I called.

He didn't stop at all as he worked his way to the roof of the building.

He leaned against the railing and looked at the city.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"I want to know what happened." I walked over and leaned aginst the railing along side him. "I've never seen Alphonse like that."

He continued to look forward as he explained. "It's all my fault that this happened, my fault that Al is stuck like that. I wanted to ask him if he blames me."

I nodded. "Must be hard on you as well. Keeping all that guilt bottled up for so long." I rested my head on the metal and glanced over at him. There was a sad expression on his face. "I know how it feels. I feel like I'm the one who let my brother die." I breathed deeply. "It eats at you from the inside out."

I straightened my back and put a hand on his shoulder. He didn't move.

"You still have a family. You'll have a chance to ask him later." I gave him a smile, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Winry must have told him by now though," he stated.

I moved my hand.

"I was wondering. Why do you call me and Al by our full names?"

I blinked with a confused look on my face. "I didn't know I could call you by your nicknames."

"Well just call me Ed and Al Al."

"Okay."

We stood there for a while, the only thing knocking the world back into place was the sound of the door opening.

"Hey Al," I said testing the name.

Ed turned around and glared at his little brother. I looked at him, wondering what happened the the version that was to depressed to think about talking.

"Hey Al. We haven't had a fight in a while," he challanged. Without any warning he went up to Al and kicked him.

My jaw dropped. "You idiot! You're gonna get hurt again!"

I heard a sound and glanced at the door, noticing Winry. She had a blank expression on her face.

I face palmed before working my way over to her. I narrowly escaped with my life. Those two were vicious.

"Hey Myra," Winry said, as if she was completly oblivious to the fighting.

"Aren't you concerned at all?" I questioned. I conti ued to stare at her odd and raised an eyebrow.

She shook her head. "They've always dealt with things this way."

We watched them fight. Ed pulled a sheet off of a laundry rack and yanked it over Al, dragging his big metal body to the ground. They both lied down on the ground and began talking. Ed laughed at something Al said.

"So Myra," Winry began.

"Hm?" I continued to watch them. They had made up and were now just being.

A sly smile crept up on her face. "What's going on between you and Ed?"

I looked up to see her. "What do you mean?"

"Oh come on. You two are partners now. Don't think for a second you can throw me off as easily as that."

She was so damn persistant. It didn't help that she was a head taller than me. That just made things easier for her to pry.

"There's nothing going on damn it! And what about you?" I glared at her and she frowned.

"We grew up together and Ed's like an annoying brother to me." She turned to look over at them. They were getting up and coming over.

I looked from Winry to Ed. They looked like they could be related, now that I thought about it.

'Winry is insane. Ed's just another hot headed boy I can beat up.' I shook my head and sighed.

I followed the boys back to their room before Winry followed me back to mine. She continued bring up the previous subject. I eventually had to kick her out before I went completly crazy.

I gazed out the winow that evening, watching as everyday people went about their own lives.

I sighed and made my way back to the bed. For some reason all of my dreams were nightmares.

**(A/N: Yes! I broke the 2000 barrier again! I'm getting better at this kinda thing. *:-{)**

**Sigh. I recently got in touch with a friend. I moved from (insert town name here) to (insert town name here) and we haven't talked in a while. Very happy, but we've always been different. **

**Any who, please review! I'll sic Myra on you if you continue to ignore me.**

**Myra: Good luck with that Hopeless. Still in a hospital remember?**

**Hopeless: … yes I remember.**

**Myra: Then...**

**Hopeless: Just stop talking! **

**Please, please review. Myra's gonna start arguing with me.)**


	17. Chapter 17

**(A/N: Tears! We've reached the point in the story where Hughes dies but they don't know! And Rush Valley. Oh god a baby. How ever will I write this! Also, the brothers have to travel to Dublith to see Teacher. Wondering how Myra will deal with a trip to her hometown? Read on my friends!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMAB. Only Myra and extra places and people.)**

•

I was in Ed's room the next morning. There were a couple military people, Hughes was one of them, who wanted to know more about what had happened in Lab Five. When Ed and them were finished, things got weird.

"Did you say Dublith?" I questioned.

Winry had come by with train tickets.

"Yeah. We need to visit our old teacher," Ed said. Al began shaking.

"I don't think I can go. There's no way she's not going to kill us!"

"Come on Al," Ed said with a shakey voice. "Don't chicken out on me. I'm scared too."

After a few moments Ed went back to talking. "Teacher might know something about the Philosopher's Stone." Ed thanked Winry. I stared with wide eyes. "What's with you?"

I face palmed and glared at him before sitting on my stool. My voice was relaxed as I spoke. "Dublith is my home town. I can't go back there." I stared at my hands and muttered, "This sucks. Why did I have to be partnered?"

They hadn't heard my mutters and I was grateful. I breathed a sigh of relief and puffed my bangs away.

"You could always just not come," Ed said rudely.

I turned on him. "My orders from Baker say that 'we're partners until further notice. If one goes somewhere, the other is to go with'. Like it or not we're stuck together."

You could almost see the amount of irritability in the room. Ed and I glared at each other. After a moment he turned away to look at something.

"So where exactly is Dublith?" Winry asked.

Ed pointed to a circle on a map. "Here, down in the South."

Winry's eyes scanned the map and lit up when she saw a certain place. A massive smile showed up on her face.

Ed, Al, and I stared at her as if she was crazy.

"What is it Win?" I questioned.

"Rush Valley! The automail engineering mecca!" She squeeled. "It's on the way, can you guys take me!"

I raised an eyebrow at her. 'This girl is crazy,' I thought.

Ed looked Winry in the eye and said, "No."

She began pouting and Al came to the rescue. "Come on Brother. It is on the way."

Ed had an irritated look on his face as he surrendered. I tried to hold back laughter, but I ended up smiling, causing him to get even more annoyed.

Winry squeeled again before saying. "I need to go tell Grandma."

Ed and Al stared blankly at the door. I got up and left for my room, feeling uncomfortable.

•

We left on the train later that evening. I was dissapointed I wasn't able to thank Hughes for letting me stay at his place. In the end, I spent the majority of my time in hospitals.

The train ride was uncomfortable, and it didn't help that I was crushed against the window, sitting beside a suit of armor. Winry had brought along some food that Gracia had made. The apple pie tasted so good that it almost made up for the fact I was stuck with Ed, whose attitude towards me went from annoyed to ignoring. Alphonse is okay. He didn't feel as if I'm holding them back from something they can never have.

It took several hours to get there, and once we stopped Winry went crazy again.

She squeeled at an automail arm. I rolled my eyes and stuffed my hands into my pants pockets.

"Hey kid!"

Ed turned as someone grabbed hold of his hand.

"I've never seen automail like this before! It's amazing!"

I laughed as a crowd swarmed around him. I said nothing to them, in hopes that they wouldn't do the same. Winry blew it.

Winry's smile only got bigger as she pointed at me. "Thanks, I'm the designer. I also did her leg."

A hollow feeling swept over me. I gulped as a handful of crazies began messing with my boots and my pants leg.

"Hey! This is way to close!" I screamed at a gew of them. "Winry! How could you?" I sobbed. I glanced at her and noticed an evil gleem in her eyes.

Once they were done invading my personal space, I walked around and got my boots.

"I feel as if I need a shower." I shoved my feet into my boots and stood up. "I feel so violated."

"You think you're violated!" I glanced over at Ed, who was standing a couple meters away in his boxers. I laughed out loud he got his clothes back.

I stared at him he got dressed, but almost automatically turned my head away, feeling disgusted thinking about how attractive he was. I shook my head, wanting the image of his muscles to go away.

"Uh oh," I heard.

I turned back and raised an eyebrow at him. He still hadn't put his shirt on.

"What happened?" Winry asked.

"My watch is gone."

A guy that was walking by started talking. "Sounds like you guys had a run in with Paninya." **(Don't shoot me if I spelled her name wrong)**

"Who?" I commented.

"She's the local pick pocket. Goes after tourists."

"Where can we find her?" Ed demanded.

"She hangs around at an automail shop near the canyon, but she's probably going to a pawn shop if she's got something important."

Something in Ed snapped. "Lets go guys!"

He took off down the street, Al chasing after.

I turned to Winry. "We should go after them shouldn't we."

She nodded her head. We both went after them.

"Wait up you guys!" I shouted.

•

I shook my head as Ed tore up the canyon. When Winry got hold of the girl, I smacked Ed's head.

"Hey! What the hell was that for?" Ed exclaimed.

I jabbed a finger back at the path. "Look what you did! We could be stuck here!"

"I'll fix it later," he grumbled.

I stuffed my hands in my pockets and shook my head.

We were invited over to the automail shop. The engineer, Dominic, had a look at Ed's automail. He commented about how it was too heavy and may be why he's so short. Winry wanted him to make her his apperntice. He flat out rejected her.

Winry, Paninya and I went into another room after a while. It was raining and my right leg was sore, as were Paninya's legs.

"Whenever it pores like this my stumps get achy," she said as she rubbed one of her legs. She looked over at me as I did the same. "So Myra, what happened to you?"

Winry stared with interest as I told them my cover. "About a year and a half ago I was in a car accident. Killed the last of my family. Not much later I wanted automail so I could walk again." It was a rehersed excuse that I used somthings.

She nodded and Winry looked at me strange.

"So what about you?" I questioned.

Paninya folded her arms and rocked back and forth. I was in a train accident as a kid. Killed both of my parents and I lost my legs. Not long after Mr. Dominic found me. With no one asking me, I was outfitted with automail legs. I already promised that I'd pay him back, but he never takes any money."

"So that's why you're a pick pocket?" Winry said in a tone I'd never heard before. "Mr. Dominic won't respect you for being a theif. If you want to make him proud, then get up and work for it."

Paninya stared at her blankly before lifting up and inspecting one of her legs. "You're right." She reached into her pocket and pulled out Ec's watch. I should give this back shouldn't I?" She tried to open the lid but nothing worked. "Huh. It won't open."

"Here, let me see it," Winry said. She tried but still nothing worked. I saw an evil glintnin her eyes. "It's sealed with alchemy. That means there's something in here he doesn't want anyone to see." She pulled out some tools and went to work trying to pry it open.

"Uh, Win?" I commented. If he used alchemy maybe it' none of our business. Isn't that an invasion of privacy?"

I heard a click as she opened it. "Haha!" she exclaimed.

Paninya and I walked around. There was writing on the inside of the lid.

"Don't forget; three, october, year eleven," Paninya read.

"A date? What's so important about that?" I said, confused.

Winry had a sad look in her eyes as she handed back the watch. "Here. You should give this to him," she said to Paninya. "I'm going to ask Mr. Dominic to apprentice me again."

They both took off in different directions, leaving me there with my coffee.

"Aw. I'm all alone," I said to no one as I sipped my drink.

Midsip, I heard screams coming from Winry's direction. I got up and ran.

"What's wrong?" I said. I noticed how pale their faces looked.

"The baby's coming!" They screamed.

"Oh. Okay then," I stated, perfectly calm. A lot of my neighbors had had babies, but they were all born in a hospital. I could have been more concerned, but babies were a natural thing and it was going to come sooner or later.

"How can you be so calm!" Ed shouted, practically in my face.

I huffed and pushed his chest so he would back up. "Will you shut up? Somone just needs to get a doctor. If he comes too late then we either have a dead mother or a healthy mother and a baby."

Winry looked disturbed as I listed the outcomes. Child birth was the closest to death a woman could ever get, so you should always consider the possibilities.

"Don't look at me like that! You're parents were doctors right? You must know what could happen."

She nodded.

Mr. Dominic went out to get a doctor. He had to take a longer path because Ed smashed up the shorter one. I smacked him again for that.

After he left it was obvious that the baby wasn't going to wait very long. Winry took charge and had Paninya help her out. I was happy, because I did not want to be in there.

Ed, Al, and I stayed out in the hall. The lady's screams got louder by the moment and it was funny to see the boys panic.

Almost an hour had passed, and there was still no doctor. I don't know what possesed him but while we were sitting, Ed asked God if he could help out. I raised an eyebrow at this and looked over at him. His face was serious.

It seemed like forever later when Paninya came crawling out of the room. She flopped down on her stomach.

I went over to her. She looked like she had gone crazy. I rested a hand on her back and tried to calm her down. Ed looked in and went over to Winry, who was on her hands and knees.

"Winry. Are you okay?" He asked in a worrying tone.

She pointed at the bed. He looked over and his jaw dropped. A massive smile showed up on his face.

"It's a baby!" he exclaimed. He and Al cheered. "Awesome! Awesome awesome awesome!" he chanted. I looked over at them and rolled my eyes.

"Awesome? That's how you're going to describe this?" Winry commented.

"How else could I describe it? It's new life. Something alchemy couldn't do in a million years but a woman can do in nine months."

Winry glared at him. "Of course you'd compare child birth to alchemy."

"Ocupational hazard," he stated flatly.

Paninya had finally gotten up and we were all fawning over the baby.

"So. Baby's born, everythings all good. Anything you need me for?"

"Uh yeah," Winry said. "Could you pick me up?"

I laughed mentally. She couldn't even stand up. I smiled to myself and lifted the baby's squishy little hand. "To think we all used to be so small."

•

The next day the rain had cleared up and Winry was going to stay behind. Mr. Dominic had recommended her to an engineer that would apprentice her.

"Run!" I screamed as we chased the train.

I hopped up, followed by Al. He extended a hand and helped Ed get on.

"Bye Winry!" I called.

"You guys be careful!" She called back.

I smiled at her and waved until I couldn't see her anymore.

**(A/N: How many of you thought that we'd get to Dublith this chapter? Well TBSSYL. I write my chapters so that you want to get to the next one. **

**Also... I GOT INTO THE 2000 RANGE AGAIN MINUS THE BIG AUTHOR NOTES! I'm getting better at writing long chapters! However I doubt that I'll ever get into the 3000 range unless I stuff Myra into Gluttony's stomach along with Ed and Ling. Oh good gate I almost forgot about Ling. He shows up much later though so you'll have to wait.**

**Please review! I'll sic Myra on you!)**


	18. Chapter 18

**(A/N: It is I, Hopeless! We are now ariving in Dublith! Holy Fudge it's the Dragon Lady. I recently saw the OVA about her month in the Briggs Mountains. Hahaha! The OVAs are so funny.**

**Well anyway. I'm stuck up in Burnsville for a week. If none of you have ever heard of it, it's this itty bitty town about an hour from Ashville. Guess what! While I'm here I'm going to make an awesome fangirl coat! It's gonna look exactly like Ed's red coat except for the hood. Don't have a pattern that'll work for that. Haha! I love fangirling!**

**Well this A/N is dragging on forever. I will now get to the story)**

•

I looked out the window and noticed we were approaching the station. I felt movement beside me and looked over at Ed. He had woken up from a nap and I noticed sweat dripping down his face. Concerned, I touched his shoulder.

"You okay?" I asked.

He pushed my hand away and nodded.

"We're almost at the station," Al noted.

I continued looking out and saw some of my neighbors houses. 'I can't believ I'm back.'

We got off the train and I followed them to a butcher shop.

"I'll be surprised if she's not home," Ed muttered.

I saw a shadow from behind the doorway and a giant man came out.

The brothers seemed to shrink. "Uh. Hello Sig," Ed said.

He extended a hand and rubbed Ed's head. "Good to see you. You've grown a little."

I snickered as Ed's hair got messed up.

"Uh. You might not recognize me, but it's Alphonse," Al said.

The large man stopped rubbing Ed's head and turned to Al. "Looks like you've grown more than a little."

Even in armor I could tell Al was smiling.

Sig moved over and poked his head in through a window. "Izumi. Some old students have come by to visit."

"Okay. I'll be right there," came a response.

"Lying down?" Al commented. "She must have gotten worse."

I heard loud footsteps before the door slammed open and knocked Al aside.

"What the..." A foot came at my face. I quickly dodged it and she ended up kicking Ed.

"Hello my stupid pupil! I heard you've become one of the millitary's dogs!" She said in a threatening tone.

I watched with wide eyes as Al trembled. "Um. We can explain."

The evil look in her eyes seemed to vanish when she saw him. "Al? Well look how big you've gotten."

Al made the mistake of going up to her. "It's nice to see you..."

She grabbed hold of his arm and flipped him onto his back.

I shook as she walked over to me. I gulped.

"And who are you? Another student?"

"Uh... well... no I'm not. But you'd probably beat me up if you knew who I am," I stammered, not quite sure how to respond.

As if I was offering, she grabbed my arm and threw me up into the air. I screamed as I came falling to the ground. I landed hard on my back, pushing out the air inside of me. I gasped for breath and began coughing like mad. "What the hell was that for? You don't know me yet you're going to beat me up anyway!" I continued gasping.

She ignored me as Ed came back over.

"You're doing pretty well for some one who's not feeling well," he commnted.

"Not feeling well! I'm perfectly..." her words were cut off when she coughed up blood.

Sig became concerned and put an arm around her. I raised an eyebrow at the mushiness.

They invited us in and we sat around a table.

"The Philosopher's Stone? It never held any interest for me so I don't know much," Izumi said after Ed asked.

"Oh. Ok."

"Wasn't there that one guy from Central who was interested in the stone?" Sig stated.

Ed and Al's face lit up. "What was his name?" Ed asked.

"Uh... oh now I remember. It was Hoenhiem." **(Can't spell to save my life. Get over it)**

The look on Ed's face shifted from interest, to disgust, to anger. I heard Al's head clank as he turned to look at his brother.

"Hm?" I said.

"What is it?" Izumi questioned.

"So he's alive," he mumbled.

"Some one you know?"

"He's our father," Al said calmly.

Izumi looked shocked. "The one who ran out on you?"

It was my turn to look shocked. They'd never told me. I'd found out about their mom, but I had no clue about their father.

"Yeah that's the one." I wasn't sure if he was going to break down or if he was going to break the table at this point. "It's all because of him that our mother's dead."

I raised an eyebrow at him. He stared at the table intently, as if remembering something.

"What did he say about the stone?" Al asked.

"Something about a dream come true." She glared at Ed and stood up. She punched him hard on top of his head.

"Hey!" He exclaimed.

"Now we're going to eat!" She walked off toward the kitchen while Ed rubbed his head.

At dinner, I ate everything given to me. Sig tried to get Al to eat. I nearly choked and had to drink a bunch of water. The brothers distacted them with the baby story.

That night, the two of them slept in one room and I slept on a couch. I was fine with it. I kicked off my boots and relaxed easily.

•

The next morning, I was woken up by someone pushing me off of the couch.

"Hey!" I looked up and saw Izumi. I gulped.

"Why is your right leg metal?" she questioned me.

'Oh damn. I forgot that she doesn't know.'

"Um. Well. It's a long story," I stammered.

She glared at me. "I see. Come outside. I will give you two minutes to do so."

'Shit. How much does she suspect?'

I walked outside after stuffing my feet into my boots. Ed, Al, and Izumi were already out there. I stared at the fact Ed's glove was torn and his automail sword was back.

"So... you needed something?" I asked weakly.

She glared at me before running at me.

I ran backwards, dodging her attacks.

"What the hell lady!" I shouted. I ducked down out of her reach and clapped my hands. She tried to get me again, but I'd already made a wall between us. I slumped against the wall, briefly letting my guard down.

I struggled to catch my breath as I looked around the wall. She was no longer attacking. I breathed a sigh of relief and crawled around.

"You've done it as well," she said, still glaring.

"Uh..." I didn't know how to respond. I simply held my head in shame. After a moment I nodded. "Yes. I admit it. It was my brother and me. We did it. I made it though."

The glare vanished. She looked at me simpathetically. "It's okay Myra."

I hated the guilty feeling she left me with. I wanted desperately to stand up and run, but my legs wouldn't move. I gripped my right pant leg. I waited to cry tears that never came. My chest got tight. Eventually, I stood up and was able to breath.

Later that day Izumi told us about herself and what happened to her. I felt sorry for her. When she was finished she and the brothers discussed what had happened. They tried to make everything that had happened sound like it was a good thing. I felt annoyed. After all that they'd been through they were just going to sugar coat it?

I clenched my fists and released once Izumi called them idiots. They hugged and some part of me knew that if Al could cry, he would have done so already. Ed never cried, which I found annoying.

Sig rested a large hand on my shoulder. I looked up at the big man.

"You all have been through a lot," he said.

I looked back at them and nodded. 'I brought this all on myself,' I thought. 'I trusted my brother and this is the end result.'

After awhile, they broke apart and Izumi moved to stare out the window. I stayed in the back ground, not wanting to be noticed.

"To think that you two did human transmutaion and survived is very impressive. However, I can not accept the fact you did something strictly forbidden." She turned around, her glare making another appearance. "You're both expelled."

"But Teacher..." Al started.

Ed held a hand in front of him. "No Al."

"The trains are still running. Get on one of them."

My jaw had dropped and I was gaping at what I was seeing.

Ed, Al and I went to the station, Sig was there to send us off.

"Come by if you're ever in town," he told them.

"I don't know about that," Al said.

"You idiots!" He yelled at them. "Now that you're expelled you can talk to each other as equals."

Ed face palmed and I stared at him odd. "Damn it. We still haven't done what we came here to do. Come on guys." He took off down the street.

"Huh?" I exclaimed. They were already pretty far ahead of me. "Hey! Wait up! I want to get away from here as quickly as I can!"

I crashed into someone on my way over. I fell to the ground and my suitcase was sent flyingcin the opposite direction.

"Hey! Watch where the hell you're going!" a familar voice said.

"Me! Who do you think you are?" I stood up to get a better look at who it was. My jaw dropped. "Khyle!" I exclaimed.

"Yes. Who..." he trailed off. "Myra! Is that you?"

A massive grin showed up on my face. "Oh my god! Khyle I've missed you so much!" I forgot about my lugage and wrapped my arms around his torso. He returned the hug and we stayed like that for a moment, remembering each other.

We both let go and smiled at one another.

"I haven't seen you in forever. We're have you been?" He asked.

"All over Amestris. Been up North, East, but mostly in Central."

He nodded. "Do you want to come over? My mom's making pork."

I grinned and smiled again. "Absolutely," I said, Ed and Al completely forgotten.

Khyle grabbed my case and we walked to his house. His family owned the bakery and I could smell it from anywhere in the town.

"Myra! Is that you?" his mom exclaimed.

I continued to smile. "Yes. Hi Mrs. Walt."

The plump woman came over to hug me. "Oh dear. How we've missed you."

"Everyone on this side of town knows you. We haven't seen you since you fixed the roof for us," Khyle commented.

I thought back to the previous year. I was fixing their roof when Baker came by. That was the last time I'd spoken to any of them.

Happy tears prickled the insides of my eyes and I returned the hug.

We sat around and ate dinner together. Afterwards, they let me stay over night. I was hapy to be with friends. I'd completely forgotten about anything concerning the brothers and Izumi.

•••

When Myra didn't show up that evening, everyone came to the conclussion that she was lost.

Izumi smacked Ed on the head. "You idiot! How could you have lost her!"

"What are you yelling at me for?" he said as he rubbed his injury.

"You're the oldest in this partnership, so it's you're responsibility to keep an eye on her." She sighed and lifted a hand to her face.

"We shouldn't have to worry," Ed said. "She used to live here. She might be with an old friend."

Izumi glared at him.

"I could go out and look for her," Al suggested.

Izumi looked over at him. "Good idea. Come back at noon if you haven't found her by then."

He nodded his metal head and walked outside.

•

I woke up on the guest bed. I sat up and stretched my arms.

"Morning," I said as I entered the kitchen. Khyle and Mrs. Walt were sitting there. His dad was there now. I smiled and sat at the empy seat near Kyhle. He returned the smile and we all ate.

"Thank you so much for letting me stay the night," I said with a polite bow. "I have to get going though. I have friends waiting for me." I gave them all a hug before picking up my suitcase.

"I want to fight you the next time you're in town," Khyle said. "The guys and I are getting pretty rusty."

"Hahaha!" I laughed. "I'll remember that."

I took off down the street and made my way over to the butcher shop.

"Hello!" I called as I entered.

Izumi was standing there at the counter, sharpening a knife. I noticed that the evil glare was back in her eyes and I gulped.

"Where have you been?" She demanded.

I never took my eyes off of the knife in her hand. "I was at the bakery. I'm old friends with the family."

She stabbed the knife into the counter. Her face softened. "As long as you're safe."

I nodded. "So, uh, where's Ed and Al?"

"Al went out to find you and I haven't seen Ed. Last I saw he was outside."

"Hm."

Sig motioned us to come out. He was carrying a broom. "I found this near an alley."

Izumi exploded. "That idiot! I told him to wait until after noon! Can't he go ten minutes without causing trouble!"

Some one nearby tossed her a match box. "Here catch. A friend of mine saw a short blonde kid heading into a bar call the Devil's Nest."

I followed Izumi to the bar. She objected to my coming but gave up when she saw how subborn I was.

She plowed through the guards as we made our way down the hall. She destroyed a wall. I looked in and saw a bloodied Ed next to a tall person with black skin.

"Teacher!" Ed exclaimed.

I watched as he foot came up and kicked him in the face. He went flying across the room.

"You damn imbicile! You think it's funny to not put the broom away!"

"N-no ma'am! I'm sorry!"

I stepped around and stood beside her.

"Teacher! Be careful he's…"

Izumi silenced him. "Yes I know. I could hear you all the way down the hall!"

I looked over at him and sighed. "I'm more used to kicking you're ass than saving it," I stated. "You realize I was never lost. I know this town like the back of my hand!"

"Then where did you run off to?" He argued.

I got even more annoyed. "You're the one who was running!"

Izumi punched my back and I stumbled forward a few feet. "Will you two shut up!" She exclaimed, sounding a bit like Al back when we were going to Lab Five.

"I'm sorry," I apologized.

The man in black complained. "Don't me you're going to start something. It's no fun fighting women."

Izumi growled and stuck a hand on his face. She transmuted his skin and I watched as she kicked him hard in the neck. He went flying and collided with the wall.

"Hahaha!" He laughed disturbingly as he looked over at her. "Well now. What the hell are _you_?"

She stepped up to him, the evil look still in her eyes. "You ask what I am?" She jabbed her thumb in her direction and roared, "I'm a house wife!"

•

Izumi, Ed, and I got into fighting positions and waited for the guy to attack. Inatead he started laughing at us.

"A couple of hot headed brats and a house wife. You're quite the team, but not what I usually fight."

I kept my eyes focussed on him, wondering what the hell he was stalling for.

"I'll just be on my way now."

I stared at him with wide eyes. "Huh?"

"What?" Ed commented.

"You coward!" Izumi said before coughing up blood. Ed screeched when he saw her.

"Teacher!" He exclaimed.

I wasn't paying attention. I just noticed the fact that my target was getting away.

"Uh guys," I said pointing at the hole in the wall. "He got away."

A couple MPs came into the room. I knew that he had gotten pretty far away at this point.

'Aw damn it,' I relaxed my arms and puffed my bangs away.

•

Some of the MPs found Al in the sewers beneath the building. He wasn't responding to anything.

"Al!" Ed screamed at his younger brother. "Al! Come on!"

Al's metal head creaked as he looked up at Ed. "Ed?"

Ed's face relaxed. "Yea. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Are you? You're covered in blood."

"You are too," I said, not daring to look in his direction.

"All looked down and noticed that his chest plate was gone. He gasped.

Armstrong came over. "We had to open you up to pull her out. We also thought that we should do it before you awoke."

I closed my eyes and shuddered, a dead body not even three meters from where I stood.

Al held his face in his hands. "I couldn't save her."

Ed tried to reasure him. "You can't blame yourself for this." With some effort, he put on a smile and said, "Come on. Let's go home."

"Hold on you two," a voice said in the distance. I turned my head and saw Fuhrer Bradley. My jaw dropped.

"Did either of you make any deals with a man who refers to himself as Greed?" he asked.

"Of course not," Ed said as he stood up. He glared at the Fuhrer as he came up to them.

"Did you share any kind of information?"

"Nothing, and the military wasn't even mentioned."

"That's not what I mean. Allow me to be more specific; if you made a deal or shared any knowlege with him, then I'll execute the both of you right now."

I gulped and shrank away.

"We didn't. Can we go now?" Ed asked in a somewhat pissed off tone.

Bradley glared at them. "I am curious about your steel arm and leg, along with your brother's body. Is there any connection?"

Ed's eyes went wide. I stared with interest.

Bradley just laughed. "You sure are an honest kid. Take care of each other," he said as he walked away.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

•••

That night Ed, Myra, and Al were sitting out side on the pourch talking to Armstrong. Ed was cleaning Al's chest plate.

"I almost forgot. Greed had an Ouroboros tatoo," he said.

"I'm not sure I understand," Armstrong said.

Ed looked up at him. "Back at the Fifth Lab, The Philosopher's stone. Remember? All the stuff I told you and Colonel Hughes about."

"Colonel Hughes," he said in a surprised voice. Myra raised an eyebrow at his reaction.

He sighed and came around to Ed. Armatrong grabbed him by the shoulders. "Listen to me. Don't do anything rash."

"Uh ok."

The three watched as he walked away.

Al turned to look at Ed. "Brother. They're back. The memories of when my body was taken."

"That's great Al," Myra cheered. She gave him a smile and looked back at Ed.

"So what do remember?" He asked.

"Hm. Well it was definitly weird," he said, wiggling his arms as an example. "But I didn't see anything that would help get us our bodies back."

"That's okay," Ed said as he packed up the cleaning supplies.

"I guess we haven't made much progress, huh?" Al said in a depressed tone. Myra got annoyed with this and pulled his head off.

"Hey!" He exclaimed. "Give me back my head!"

Myra shook her head. "Not until you cheer up! It's been a long, terrible, miserable day. But we should all be happy we made it out with onnly a few scratches." She began to swing his head around by the ponytail. The brothers stared at her as if she'd gone crazy. "You want it back?"

"Well yeah I want my head!" Al exclaimed.

Myra grinned and tossed it at him. "Here ya go. Promise not to be such a downer for at least the rest of the night?"

"Sure. As long as I can keep my head."

**(A/N: Hot damn! I broke into the 3000 range not including the authors notes! I can't believe it! Myra! Slap me!**

**Myra: You asked for it. (Slaps Hopeless so hard a red handprint shows up on her cheek)**

**Hopeless: Owww :'-(**

**Myra: You wanted me to slap you, so that's what you get. (Feels no guilt)**

**Hopeless: Owww **

**Well please review! Kimitachi o aishite!)**


	19. Chapter 19

**(A/N: Dun da da dum! It's the 19th chapter of TSSA! Awesome, right? May not be as long as my last chapter, but we've got Ling! That has to count for something!**

**Well I must be typing so I'll cut this authors note short.)**

•••

The three of them had traveled back to Rush Valley. Ed's arm had been damaged durin the fight against Greed.

"Hello Winry," to her when she walked out of the shop.

"Huh?" She turned and looked at him. He had a stupid smile on his face.

"You look like you're in a generous mood today."

She looked at him suspiciously. "What did you do this time?"

He gulped and pulled down his coat sleeve, revealing the damage underneath.

She glared at him evily and threw her wrench at his head.

Winry brought them around to the shop and pulled out a bandage. She wrapped it around the automail and sighed. "Even Paninya has a job, but you three just can't seem to stay out of trouble."

"What kind of job?" Myra asked as she sruffed her hands into her pockets.

"She does odd jobs around the town, fixing things and helping people out." She turned to glare at them. "What about you guys? Made any progress yet?"

"Yeah," Al responded. "It's going kinda slow though."

Ed sat up and continued. "We're moving ahead, little by little."

"Good. Glad to hear it."

Ed tested his arm to make sure it worked.

"I don't have all the parts so you'll have to do with a patch job. In the meantime find something to pass the time," she told themc

•

"How are we supposed to pass timein a town of automail shops?"

I looked around and noticed some thing in an alley. It looked like a person.

I tugged on Al's hand and pointed. We both snuck away from Ed to check it out. I looked over Al's shoulder and stared with wide eyes.

"Uh, Brother," Al said.

"What is it now? You found a cat?"

"Definitly not a cat," I stated.

Ed walked over and Al lifted the guy by the coat. Ed nearly choked on his drink when he saw him.

We took the guy somewhere to get him food and he perked up after a dozen noodle bowls. I gaped at how much he could eat. It reminded me of when I first met Ed and Al.

"I feel so much better!" He said. I was still gaping at him. "Your treat right?"

"When did I ever say I was paying?" Er grumbled.

He began to get emotional. I closed my mout and raised an eyebrow as he spoke. It sounded rehearsed. "How lucky I am to have found such hospitality so far away from home!"

"You mean you're not from around here?" I said.

"Yup. I'm from Xing."

I gaped again. "That's all the way accross a dessert!" I exclaimed.

"Yup. It was tough crossing that thing."

I rested my head on my hands and stared in awe as he spoke. I don't know what possesed me, but I did.

"Why would you take that route?" Al questioned.

"I wanted to visit the ruins of Xerxes of course. That route goes right by it."

"I thought there was nothing out there," Ed commented.

"I wanted to see for myself. I've been doing some research on alkahestry."

"Alkahestry? What the heck is that?" I remarked.

"In your country you call it alchemy. Alkahestry is almost the same, except we use it more for it's medical abilities," he explained.

"Huh. In Amestris alchemy is more associated with millitary uses," Ed commented.

"I'm curious to learn more about alkahestry. An alchemy with medical uses could be useful," Al said.

"Yea, me too," Ed replied.

"Bye any chance are you guys alchemists?"

"Yea we are," I said. "I'm Myra Loken, a State Alchemist. Ed here is one as well. The guy in the armor is Alphonse, his younger brother. "

He grabbed all of out hands and we shook. "Pleased to meet you guys. I'm Ling Yao."

Ed smiled at him. "So, what can you tell us about alkahestry? We're dying to know more."

"Nothing. I'm not an alkahestrist." **(Don't kill me because I can't spell)**

I watched as Ed and Al mmentarily became depressed.

"Wait. If you're not an alkahestrist then why come all the way over here to research it?" I asked.

"I'm looking for something. Ever heard of The Philosopher's Stone?" He questioned.

I lifted my head from my hands and stared at the table.

"I'm deserate to find it. Do you know anything?" His voice got darker as he spoke. I looked him in the eyes and saw something that wasn't right.

"We don't know anything. Sorry to dissapoint," Ed remarked.

The three of us stood up and began to walk away.

"You aren't lying are you?" He snapped his fingers and a masked pair popped out. The shorter of the two held small knifes against Ed's and mine neck. The old man pointed a sword at Al's shoulder. "Now then. Anything you're not telling me?"

I felt a shockwave of adrenaline surge through out me. I wanted desperetly to go after these guys, but I held back.

"Why the interest in the stone?" Ed questioned.

"I want to achieve imortality."

I face palmed. "Oh good grief."

They ignored my comment. "Now. What do you know about it?"

Ed scoffed. "Imortality? What a bunch of nonsense."

"Not to me," Ling said.

I sighed. 'Is this guy crazy?'

"In any case I don't really like your way of questioning us." Ed held up his metal hand and pushed the weapon away. He went to hit thw guard, but he moved out of the way to quickly. He jumped into the air and came back, kicking us both down to the ground.

"How charming," I thought outloud as I struggled to get up. I noticed that Al was on the ground to the left and Ed on my right.

"Is this guy an acrobat or something?" Ed commented.

"Must be a Xingese fighting style. Gonna be tough to beat," Al responded.

"Even so. They're still not as strong as teacher."

The brothers went after the two guards. I sighed and stood up. I looked over at Ling, who had happily ordered desert.

I shook my head and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Hey," I said as I sat back down at the table. "So why do you need the Stone any way? I mean, imortality can't be all there is to it."

He smiled at me and explained his story.

"Huh," I said when he finished. "Interesting. But couldn't you have been at least a little easier on my us? I mean I'm fine. I don't care what your lackies do to me as long as I stay in one piece, but Ed's going to feel a lot of pain if his mechanic sees what he's doing. And I mean if you hadn't come off as threatening maybe they would have let you in on a little."

"So you do know about it," he said, catching me.

"Not a lot," I said trying to cover with a lie. "Nothing that would be of any use to anyone."

"Hm."

Sometimes I can tell what a person is thinking by the look in their eyes. Ling's were so squinty I didn't know what to make of him.

"Are your eyes just naturally squinty?" I questioned.

He frowned at me. "Yes."

I heard a loud crash and sighed. I leaned forward and sat my forehead on the table. 'Winry is either going to have to make a new arm, or the three of us are going to have to repair everything. Maybe both.'

"So, how are you connected to the Philosopher's Stone?" Ling questioned.

"Not going to say."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "I can always make you tell."

I lifted my head to get a better look. I smiled from under my bangs. "No. You can't. Not while both of your guys are already in fights."

As if to prove my point, two explosions went off on either side of the town. The ground was shaking slightly as if it were an earthquake.

Ling stood up and went over to where one of the explosions tooks place.

"Hey! Where are you going?" I got up and ran after him.

•

My jaw dropped when I saw the amount of damage.

"You idiots!" I exclaimed.

"Good work guys!" Ling called.

"What are you so happy about?" Ed asked.

"You guys have some skills. Come work for me!" He offered.

Ed fumed and got in his face. "I've had enough of you idiocic chattering. Just go back to Xing!"

"Look! They're the ones!" A voice shouted.

I looked around Ling and saw a handful of angry civilians.

"You've practically destroyed the town!" one person said.

Ed got an innocent look on his face. "Hey! We're not the ones who did this! You can blame that guy and his friends for all the damage!" He pointed to the now empty spot beside me.

Ling was backing up away from everyone. "I no speak the language of this country! So sorry!"

I slumped my shoulders and moaned. "I can't believe this guy."

"Get the hell back here!" Ed screamed at him.

Al looked down and noticed that the guards had gotten away as well.

"Oh great. How am I supposed to fix this place with one arm?" Ed asked to no one in particular.

"I'll do it," Al said, clapping his hands.

"Huh? You mean you can do it with out a circle?"

"Yeah. It's because I got the memories back."

I looked down at Ed, who had gone into a state of depression. I knealed down and pulled on his braid. It didn't knock him out of it.

I let go and sighed. "There there," I said, patting him on the shoulder.

•

We went back to the automail shop around sunset. It had been a long day and Al and I had to fix everything.

Ling was sitting at a table with Mr. Garfiel. Ed got annoyed as soon as he saw him.

"What the hell are you doing here!" He screamed after beating him up with his arm.

"Hey. We're all friends here right?"

"That's how you treat friends? By sicking your guards on them? Those two didn't go easy on us!" Ed growled.

"I didn't even get a guard. I was stuck listening to this guy and his story," I complained.

"You could have helped me out!" He yelled in my face. "Maybe if you were there my arm wouldn't have come off!"

I put my hands on his chest and pushed him away. He continued to glare at me as I spoke. "You realize that your arm was going to come off anyway. There was no way you were gonna get in a fight and not get it busted."

Ling interjected. "Don't worry about them, I promise to scold them later. The girl is Lan Fan and the man's name is Fu. Their family has served mine for many generations."

"So you beg strangers for food yet you can afford two personal attendants?" Ed said.

"Well I am the Emperer's son," Ling said. I was reminded of the long story he told me earlier.

"Then that makes you..." Ed began.

"A prince!" The brothers exclaimed at the same time.

I raised an eyebrow as they broke down into laughter.

"Well that's not the reaction I expected," Ling said, somewhat confused.

"We're sorry. We just didn't see that coming," Al apologized.

"Yea. The guy we found passed out in the streets is acctually a prince," Ed said. They began laughing again.

One of Lan Fan's knife came flying through the window and missed Ed's head by centimeters.

"You will not speak poorly of Master Ling," she said in a threatening tone. You could almost see the evil radiating off of her.

"It's okay. I'm really not that big a deal. The emperer has a lot of sons."

Ed and Al looked at him blankly. I sighed and puffed at my hair.

Ling began to tell them about the politics of Xing and why he needs the stone to become the next emperer.

"So. What kind of information can you tell me about the stone?" He looked at me as he spoke.

"I told you! You're not getting anything out of us!" I practically screamed.

He pouted before wrapping his arms around my neck. "Then I'll just stay with you guys until you tell me!"

I struggled to get free. "Let me go you weird perve!" I exclaimed before elbowing him in the stomach. Lan Fan nearly hit me with one of her knives.

He grabbed hold of my right leg and I tried to get him off of me. "Arg! Get off of me!"

I heard footsteps and we all went silent.

"I'm back!" Winry called. She automatically noticed Ed's arm and began throwing various tools at his head. "Edward! You careless little jerk!"

Ling let me go and went over to the window. The old man, Fu, wanted to speak to him.

"Hmm." I stuck my head out the window, attempting to eavesdrop on them. They'd gone onto of the roof and all I could hear at this point was Winry's screams.

•••

"So where are you off to break your automail this time?" Winry questioned as she worked on Ed's new arm.

"You only assume I'm going to break it," he grumbled.

"We're heading back to Central," Myra said.

Winry stopped what she was doing to beg. "Can you guys take me with you?"

"Why do you need to go to Central?" Myra asked.

"I want to say hi to the Hughes family," came the response.

"Oh yea! I still need to thank them for letting me stay that one time. I never got the chance to do so."

"Don't you have a lot of work here?" Al asked.

Winry's boss came over and said, "It's okay to take a break every once in a while. As long as you come back."

"Really? Thank you so much Mr. Garfiel!"

Ling's head poked in from the window. "We're going to Central! How exciting!"

"You're not coming with us!" Ed shouted.

"Aw come on," Myra said. She was trying to mess with him and it was working. "Let him come."

Ed growled. "No way! And since when are you on his side!"

"I didn't even know there were sides!" She shouted in defense.

"Will you two shut up!" Al and Winry screamed at the same time.

**A/N: Ah good gate. I don't know where the arguing is going to take these guys. In previous chapters Myra is realizing some things, but even as the author I have no clue where this relationship is headed.**

**Myra: (walks in from different room) What are you doing?**

**Hopeless: (covers up screen) Oh nothing. Just working on TSSA.**

**Myra: You damn liar. Let me see.**

**Hopeless: No! You can't! **

**Myra: Why not! (Struggles to move hands from screen and sees top paragraph) Realizing things? What things? And what do you mean relationship!**

**Hopeless: I swear it's nothing! Just a joke!**

**Myra: Liar! What the hell is going on here!**

**Hopeless: Some one help me! If you review maybe she'll get distracted! Please! Save me!**

**Myra: Hopeless! What is going on here!**

**Hopeless: Please help me!**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: I have returned! If any of you noticed, I've bee working on my side story for the past couple weeks. I've got a couple more chapters left of that before it's over and every ounce of my attention returns to school and TSSA.**

**So in World History I kept thinking about FanFiction. First alchemy was mentioned (dealing with Medival Times) and then when we got off topic my teacher mentioned that there were some interesting possible pairings between students.**

**My life is so odd.**

•••

A loud yawn had made Myra the object of everyone's attention.

"Why are you so tired?" Ed asked as he looked back at her. The small alchemist was having difficulty keeping her eyes open.

"I couldn't sleep," she said rubbing her eyes. "Ever since last night I've had this weird feeling that something bad is going to happen to all of us."

"You worry too much," he said.

Myra turned her head to glare at him, her gaze almost as terrifying as Izumi. Another yawn killed the mood.

"What did you do last night if you didn't sleep?" Winry asked.

"I took a walk around town until the sun was about to come up. You guys would have noticed if I'd stayed out any longer." Yawn. "I wasn't this tired when I walked to Central. Must have gotten lazy."

"Lazy doesn't seem to fit your character," Winry said with a smile. "You're too active."

Myra blew her off. "When does the train get here?" she complained, hunching over.

The loud whistling of the train coming into the station answered her question.

"In a few seconds if I had to guess," Ed stated.

Myra ignored him. She automatically made a run for the train when it stopped. The others followed behind her.

When the others got on the train, Myra had already crashed in a seat towards the back of the train car.

"Wow. She goes out like a light," Winry commented as she sat in the seat in front of her. Al sat beside Winry, leaving Ed stuck next to Myra.

When the train began moving Winry glanced over at Myra and put on a smile. "She's so small she looks like a little kid when she sleeps."

Expecting a remark from Ed, she looked over at him. He was leaning against the armrest, staring off into space.

Winry frowned and waved a hand in front of his face. He blinked and looked at her, confused. "What is it?" he said, mildly irritated.

She sighed, exasperated with the fact that she was the only one who had noticed anything happening between the two.

The train ride seemed to drag on for forever, an uncomfortable silence filling the air of the car.

A sharp turn caused everyone to move to the side, and Myra to fall against Ed. Winry began laughing, breaking the silence. A moment later Al began to laugh as well.

Ed got frustrated. "Come on guys! This isn't funny!"

They continued to laugh.

Ed scowled and began to shake Myra. "Wake up!" he said.

There was no response. Ed finally realized that she was barely breathing and that her face had turned pale. It reminded him of the Fifth lab, the only difference being that she wasn't covered in blood.

"Myra?" he said, shaking her again. He began to panic and shook her again. "Come on, stop messing with me. Wake up."

Al and Winry stopped laughing and looked over at them.

Ed continued to shake the supposedly sleeping girl, to no avail. His panicing got worse. "Seriously. You can stop now."

Winry's eyes grew wide when she noticed the color of Myra's face.

•

_It's red. Everything is red. The whole world has been coated blood red, death everywhere. The bodies of lifeless people cover the streets, a dark shadow hanging above them. _

_"Your friends will be next. All of the sacrafices have been laid down to play their parts. For now you must stay alive. As long as you live, everything will go as planned."_

_Sacrafice? What is he talking about._

_A different voice began speaking from a different part of the space. "You are special. Truth has his reasons for not wanting this to happen. Those violet eyes are his key. The Truth has always been with you, seeing through those eyes. He knows everything about you; everything that you've seen, every thought that runs through your head, and every promise you've made but broken. With the Truth, anything can be accomplished. The Truth is with you and within you."_

_The voice send chills down my spine. My eyes? Truth has been observing life through me? _

_The first voice returned. "Stay alive. This is an order. Now awaken and return to your friends."_

_"Wait! When? Where? Answer my questions!"_ _I demanded._

_The next voice I heard caused my heart to drop. _

_"Ask and you shall recieve," Truth said to me._

_The red color began to fade from the scene. The people dissappear from the streets and soon the streets fade as well, until the only thing around me is a blinding whiteness. _

_"Long time no see, little girl," his voice said from behind me._

_I turned on my heel and scowled at what sat before me, wearing my leg._

_"What are you doing Truth? Why did you bring me here?" I questioned him._

_He ignored the question. "The Truth lies within you huh? Not my choice words if I had a say. I'd have tried for something a little more cryptic."_

_I sneered at him. "You never answered my question."_

_The sinister grin appeared, a sign that something stange would happen._

_"I've decided to be the good guy and give you a heads up for the future. And a hint about your past."_

_My eyes grew wide. "That vision is our future?"_

_"Oh yes. Quite a grusome sight it is, hm? All because of some fools."_

_"Why don't you just stop it? You're 'God' correct? You know that all of this is going to happen, so why don't you stop it?"_

_"I'm not one to invade ones personal business. Other than yours of course. Such a lovely color violet is. A color rarely ever seen on the physical features of people. Of course I made you this way."_

_I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? My eyes have always been like this, right?"_

_Truth cackled at this. "That's what everyone around you believes, now isn't it?"_

_"Stop talking in riddles and answer the goddamn question!" I fumed._

_"As I said before, I've decided to play the good guy. You're about to meet with tragedy at the end of the ride, so here's some food for thought..." He paused and smirked. "As long as you still wish to hear it."_

_"Of course I wish to hear it! You've been teasing me like I'm a dog."_

_The smirk turned into a grin once again and a large metal door appeared behind him._

_I raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"_

_"Your gate of course! Your past lies within this. Take a look if you want. You've paid the tole already."_

_I didn't want to know what that meant as I walked forward. The little black hands wrapped themselves around me and pulled me in._

•••

"Myra! Wake up already!" Ed screamed. He had gotten off of the train bench and lied her down. Winry kneeled beside him, testing everything she could think of to make sure she was alive.

"What the hell is going on?" he growled through clenched teeth.

None of it made sense. One moment she was sleeping peacefully, the next she was lifeless.

"It's like when I got Martel's blood on my seal," Al mentioned. "That time when I was pulled back through the gate."

Ed turned to look at his brother. "You think her soul left her body? But then that would make her... dead," he said. "A body can't survive without it's soul."

"She's not dead," Winry chimed in. "She still has a slight pulse and her breathing is very faint."

Ed's eyebrows furrowed. "Then what the hell happened to her?"

•••

_It's a scene from when I was baby. I know it's me, because there's Brother and Sister, along with a woman I'm assuming is my mother. She has cinnamon colored hair, just like me._

_They are all standing around bed. The baby is lying down, face pale and breathing hard. _

_My mother shoes away the younger Brother and Sister so that she can be alone._

_Once they are gone, her hand reaches into her pocket. It comes back out as a fist. She's holding something. Her hand opens up and I gasp. _

_It's a Stone._

_"It's okay little one. I'll save you."_

_She kicks away a rug, revealing an intricate circle drawn on the ground with chalk._

_She places the baby in the center of the circle and places the stone next to it. _

_My mother backs away and places her hands at the edge of the circle. It flashes a bright red color. At first everything is going right, but then the shadows emerge and the black hands grab at her. _

_The realm of white has reappeared._

_"Do you have payment for the toll?" Truth's says. _

_My mother nods her head."Yes I do," she says. "In addition to the Stone, take me. A life for a life?"_

_Truth frowns. "Not enough, but I know what will work." _

_My baby form appears in front of my mother. Her eyes grow wide._

_"You wish for this nearly dead child to be strong and healthy. This being so I shall use her to my advantage." The small black hands creep towards the baby me and grab her face. A pair of dark eyes become visable on his face. "You have now paid the toll. The child will be strong and healthy."_

_My mother breaks down into tears of joy. She's still crying even as the black hands are ripping her very being apart._

_"Thank you," her voice says. "I will never regret what I have done."_

_My jaw has dropped and my eyes stare wide at what I have just witnessed. _

_The black hands pull me back out of the gate and in front of Truth._

_"Like mother like child. She gave everything to save a barely living creature, while you tried to bring the dead to life," he said coldly._

_I could barely breath. I felt sick to my stomach with what I had just seen. I fell to my knees and hugged myself, feeling awful inside. _

_My hands reached up to my face. My fingertips felt cold as they brushed against my eyelids. _

_"So that's what you meant," I whispered. _

_He smirked. "Don't tell your little friends the moment you wake up. Wait until you get to Central. It'll be more fun that way."_

_I glared at him as the whiteness gradually faded into darkness._

•••

All three of them went still when Myra's face suddenly returned to it natural color. Her chest inflated and she began breathing again.

"Myra?" Winry whispered.

"Hey Myra, you awake?" Ed said to her, moving her shoulder.

Her eyes slowly began to open up and the three all breathed sighs of relief.

"Hm?" she mumbled. Her eyes met Ed's and she was reminded of what happened.

Her eyes opened wide and she sat back up. She lowered her face into her hands.

"Hey, you okay?" Ed asked, genuine concern layered across his face.

She spoke into her hands, causing what she was saying to sound muffled.

The others, Al being an exception, gave her confused looks.

"What happened to you?" Winry asked.

Myra shook her head. She lifted her face from her hands and said, "I told Truth I'd explain it to you guys when we got to Central. He said it would be more fun that way."

While Winry was lost, Ed and Al knew perfectly well who and what "Truth" was. What they couldn't figure out was why he had taken Myra.

**A/N: So how many of you thought that I was just going to go to where they find out Hughes is dead and do something on that? **

**At first I was thinking of a fluffy train scene, but then I went all out on this and made it work. Truth returns, we learn why I gave Myra her violet eyes, and it also explains a little bit as to why she and her brother were able to do human transmutation (there was a particular comment that drew a bit of my attention to this topic).**

**Please review this and read my side story :-) Sayonara my friends**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: It is I! Once again I have returned with a chapter. It's been a couple of months since I've really worked on any of these fanfics, so I'm currently pumped up! (for lack of a better term :-{) **

**I need to type, so I'll be on my way. **

•

My mind was trying to organize itself while the others looked at me intently.

"Myra, can you try to explain?" Al asked. The amount of concern and kindness in his voice made my throat tighten up even more.

I tried to swallow, but at this point I was close to having a mental breakdown.

I held my face in my hands, attempting to stay calm. I could barely breathe and I could feel my heart beat getting too fast.

Winry placed a hand on my shoulder trying to comfort me, but to no avail.

_The Truth is with you and within you. _

My stomach dropped. I brought my hands away from my face and wrapped my arms tightly around myself, as if I could make a wall between him and me. I stayed that way even though I knew it wouldn't help.

_"I won't ever regret what I've done."_

I felt sick as the vision of my mother sacrificing herself for me made an appearance in my thoughts. My entire body shuddered as I watched the black hands pull her to pieces all over again.

_The whole world has been painted blood red. Death..._

My heart seemed to stop for a second before continuing. I forced myself to swallow and my throat opened up. I gasped for air before my having to force my breaths.

All I wanted at that moment was to forget everything.

"He just wants to make me suffer," I whispered breathily. It was obvious that none of them had heard me.

Ed cleared his throat to bring attention to himself. I glanced over at him, moving my head up slightly. He took control by saying, "Myra, when we get to Central you need to tell us everything."

I wasn't going to waste time or any of the strength I had by arguing, so I nodded.

'I feel so weak, unworthy of my title,' I thought. 'I hate this feeling! I've seen horrible things before. Why did I lose it this time? What did Truth do to me?'

My body gradually relaxed and I let my arms down. I ran my hands through my bangs before lying back down on the seat.

The train hit a bump and Ed stood up.

"Sit up," he told me, his voice not as rough as it usually was. This time there was a sliver of kindness put into it. I did as he said.

He sat down next to me. I frowned at him.

"Go ahead and lay down," he said, face slowly turning pink. "You were leaning against me while you were asleep earlier, so..."

I moved so that my head was resting on his lap. I didn't think anything of it. The recent events had worn out my mind as well as my body. A real sleep would do some good as long as Truth left me alone.

My body completely relaxed and my eyes closed. Soon I was really sleeping.

•••

Once she knew for sure that Myra was asleep, Winry decided to try to tease Ed.

She looked at how Myra was positioned; her body on its side with her face in Winry's direction. It brought some peace seeing as how her breaths were normal and her skin tone was normal.

"I'm happy she's okay," Winry said as she continued looking at her.

"She's far from being okay," Ed said his tone completely serious. "She could barely speak just now and there was a certain look in her eyes. It looked as if she had killed someone."

Winry's face paled slightly. "I didn't see it."

Ed sighed and leaned his right arm against the armrest. "We should know more once we hit Central and she tells us about it."

Winry nodded and looked out the window. Out of the corner of her eye she swore she saw Ed rest his hand on Myra's shoulder.

•••

Ed could feel her body heat through her dark blue coat. It comforted him, letting him know that she was truly sleeping this time.

'Whatever Truth had made her see must have been awful,' he thought. 'Myra's got a thick skin and for as long as I've known her she never seemed like the type that would have a breakdown like this.'

He looked down at her sleeping form. She was breathing and she stirred slightly. The rest of the ride he kept his hand fixed securely on her shoulder, as if his doing so would keep her from falling apart.

•-•-•

Truth grinned as he watched them.

"The boy cares for the girl yet won't allow anyone to know. He's not even accepting of the fact himself!" he laughed.

"And it's the same for the girl. Her feelings for him are held too deep in her heart for her to notice. So tragic yet so exciting," he said.

He kept a close eye on the girl as she slept and became serious.

"Even more tragic is the event they will come to meet with in the near future."

•

I fell asleep easily and stayed that way. It was a timeless sleep, with no dreams, visions, or creepy voices to bother me.

Train benches were very uncomfortable, but with my head situated comfortably on Ed's lap I didn't want to get up even when the train lurched to a stop.

I stayed in that position for a while until the hand that was gripping my shoulder nudged me ever so gently.

"Myra, wake up," Ed's voice said. "We need to get off of the train."

I opened my eyes and blinked a couple times. I turned my head and found myself looking up at his gold irises.

I put one hand on his knee and I pushed myself up. I yawned and stretched before turning back to Ed.

"Thanks for letting me lie down on your lap," I said awkwardly.

"Uh, yeah. It was nothing," he responded. He was unsure of what to say and his face had pinkened again. "I needed a place to sit and it was just easier that way."

I raised my arms and stretched before standing up. Even though I had practically imploded, I felt strangely relaxed.

I crouched down to the floor and looked under the seat. I reached and pulled out my suitcase. I finally realized that the others weren't there.

"Where did Winry and Al go?" I asked as I sat my suitcase on the bench.

"We came to the conclusion that you needed more sleep," he said, "So they got off with the first crowd. They said that they would be waiting for us outside the train station."

I nodded and pulled out his suitcase as well, setting it next to mine.

I stood up and said, "Well let's go then. Don't want to make them wait any longer than we have to." I smoothed out my coat and grabbed my suitcase before walking down the aisle and out of the train car.

I breathed in the fresh air and sighed. The Central train station was unusually quiet. Even the people that had gotten off of the train weren't talking.

Frowning I made my way to the exit. Winry and Al were sitting on a bench.

"Took you long enough!" Winry fumed, standing up to look down at me. "I was certain that he was going to keep sitting there and let you sleep forever!"

I swallowed hard before backing away slightly. My hand reached up and rubbed the back of my neck. I sighed before looking up at her. "I'm sorry I've been causing so much trouble for you guys."

My words surprised her. She was flustered as she spoke. "It's okay. I mean it's not really your fault anyway, you know? It's more Ed's fault anyway."

'Is it that difficult to be mad at me? Just scream at the top of your lungs, and not because someone broke their automail!' I thought as I raised an eyebrow at her.

Ed came walking out after a couple seconds. Winry directed her frustration over to him.

"How long were you planning to let her sleep anyway!?" she shouted in his face. "Do you even realize how long we've been sitting here? I'm almost surprised the train didn't take off for the next stop with you still in there!"

"Look I'm sorry, but she needed the rest! You guys saw her earlier too," Ed said in defense. "Let's just find a hotel, that way Myra can explain what happened."

I closed my eyes and sighed. I had finally realized what my toll was. Truth had put my soul back in my body knowing well that I'd breakdown like that.

We began walking downtown and into a local hotel. We checked out two rooms that were located beside each other. Winry and I would share one of the rooms and Ed and Al would share the other. We all gathered in the Brothers' room so I could explain. Ed was on one of the couches and Al was sitting on the other.

I sat down next to Ed and Winry sat next to Al.

"So Myra," Ed started. "What happened?"

I breathed deeply and began. "I sat down and tried to sleep. Before I knew what happened I saw this scene. I was standing on one of the streets here in Central surrounded by dead bodies. I was told that was a scene from the future."

_Death..._

I shook the vision out of my head. "After the scene faded away Truth was standing there wearing my leg like it was nothing. He explained some things to me, saying that I had already paid the toll for him to do so. I learned some things about my mother, about my past, and about my eyes."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Eyes?"

I knew I was being vague and that I would have to tell them more eventually, but I was still determining how much I would let them know.

"Apparently when I was a baby I was very sick and close to being dead. My mother sacrificed herself for me. Truth took away my original eyes and replaced them with these. He's been using them to spy on my life."

It was Winry's turn to react. "That's... creepy," she said, unsure of how to describe it.

The corner of my mouth turned upward. "To put it in the simplest of terms I'd call it awful. Seeing my mother for the first time in my life, only to have her be torn apart was the most horrifying thing I've ever been through. In all honesty it was worse then seeing what was there after trying human transmutation."

Ed and Al were taken aback with this statement. They knew firsthand how traumatizing it was, and the thought of something being worse than that probably scared the crap out of them.

"After that," I continued, "I woke up and fell apart back on the train. That's it."

"Wait a second," Al said. "What did you give to Truth in exchange for seeing that?"

I shrugged. "If I had to guess I'd say that my breakdown was the toll. He wanted some entertainment and pulled away some of my strength to get just that."

"I guess it makes sense. Humans are like toys to that bastard," Ed said.

There was silence for a few moments until Winry stood up from where she sat.

"I'm going to unpack," she said before leaving.

Even more silence followed after the door clicked closed.

I was about to stand up, but a sudden memory came to the surface.

•••

Ed looked at Myra. She had been moving forward but stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong?" he asked her. She was staring straight ahead, eyes wide.

He waved a hand in front of her face. "Myra?"

"How did she get it?" she asked, not directing the question at anyone.

"Myra?" he repeated. "What are you talking about?"

"My mother," she said. She blinked and looked at him. "In the scene I noticed that she pulled a Philosopher's Stone out of her pocket."

Al gasped and Ed's eyes had grown to the size of saucers.

Myra sighed. "I have no clue how she could have gotten anything like that."

She continued thinking, running over every detail of the scene.

'We may have a lead,' Ed thought.

Myra groaned and held her head in her hands.

Ed directed his attention to her. "What's wrong?" he asked, hoping that nothing bad would happen.

She shook her head before going through her bangs again. "The memory hurts. I can tell it's going to turn into yet another nightmare."

Ed nodded, knowing all to well about those.

Myra sighed and got up. "I need some fresh air to clean my mind."

She exited the room, leaving the brothers alone.

•

I left the room feeling faint. Once Truth had screwed with my head I made myself aware of everything that would/could happen. This was just another side effect.

I didn't want to go back to my room, but I didn't want to walk very far either.

I moved to the wall next to the door and ended up standing with my hands and forehead pressed against the wall. Any body passing by would have thought I looked crazy.

The scene repeated itself over and over in my head, pounding against my skull.

_The bedroom._

I didn't recognize the room or any furniture. It wasn't a part of my home in Dublith.

'Then where is it? I was too young to remember any of this!'

The pounding got worse. I moaned in agony, my head feeling like it was going to burst.

"Stop Truth," I whispered as I slid down to my knees. "No more of this. I know you're listening, laughing your ass off at all of this."

I rested my head on the floor, the pounding getting worse.

'On the train it was a breakdown. This time it's my brain exploding! Please let this be it!'

I held my head in my hands, even though it did nothing to help.

"Stop," I breathed.

The next thing I knew a door clicked open and someone's hands were on my shoulders.

"Myra!" Ed's voice exclaimed.

_"Did I take it too far?" Truth's voice said inside of my head. "At this rate you could be dying. I guess I have no choice but to give you back what's yours."_

A flash of blue light shined before my eyes.

The pounding stopped suddenly but I still ached.

I breathed heavily, trying to get oxygen to my head.

A clanging sound rang in my ears as Al came out to see what was going on. I heard a gasp and he said, "What happened?"

"I don't know. I found her like this." Ed's hands pulled me up off of the floor and I ended up leaning against him. I was still trying to breathe and the world was a splash of colors and shapes at this point.

"Truth," I breathed, "Bastard."

Ed moved his arms around so he could carry me. He went back into his room and set me down on one of the beds.

The world went black, but for a few moments I could still hear some things. Ed was talking under his breath.

The last thing I heard before I passed out was Winry's frantic voice.

_**A/N: **_**Nice, lengthy chapter. And every word of it was part of the story and I'm having fun with the minor fluffy bits. I'm trying to keep Ed's personality intact while also pairing him with Myra.**

**So I have stuff to tell you! I went to the International Festival and got some stuff. Stuff that includes an Edward plushy I got from a Japan booth and a brochure about studying abroad. I flipped through it and saw that I could go to Japan! If my family had more money that is... sigh**

**But Ed plushy! Yeah, you're jealous. Unless you hate him...**

**Well sayonara!**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Hello! Aren't cliffies just so much fun? I'm really happy with how this fanfic is going. I've strayed away from just following the story line and have started back with talking about Myra. Although we'll start back on the story line in a little bit.**

**Shout out to Ed's. Curious. Kitten! Thanks for reviewing and following me through all of this :-)**

**Well I'll let you read! Ed plushy says hi!**

•••

Winry had come out her room to tell everyone she was going out to eat. The door was open so she went in. The next thing she saw was Myra on the bed, eyes closed and gasping for air.

"What the hell happened to her!?" she yelled as she marched in.

Ed stormed across the room to face Winry. He fumed as he spoke. "Truth did something to her again! Al and I don't know what happened. Myra's the only one who does. Until she wakes up the three if us are as lost as last time."

Winry stepped around him and walked over to the bed. While she had very little knowledge as to who Truth was she knew that he was a real bastard.

'Why did I have to be the one to get mixed up with all this crazy stuff?' she thought.

•

My eyes opened and I saw the three of them all standing around me.

I moved my arms underneath me to push me into a sitting position. My vision blurred as blood moved through my head. I blinked a few times before everything went back to normal.

Almost normal anyway. The looks on the faces around me were mixtures of concern and relief.

"Man that sucked," I said, smiling ever so slightly. It was my way of trying to lighten up the mood.

None of them looked happy.

"Truth has messed with you twice in the last twenty-four hours. How can you be so calm?" Ed questioned.

I looked up at him. "Because he gave me back my strength," I said simply. "He'd had his fun and he didn't want me to die, so he gave it back."

Ed shook his head. "There has to be a catch..."

I cut him off. "No, there isn't."

"And how do you know?"

I paused, unsure of it.

"Instinct?" I tried.

All three of them sighed.

"Of course," Winry mumbled.

I rubbed the back of my neck and said, "So how long was I out this time?"

"A few minutes," Winry answered. "I walked in soon after you blacked out."

I nodded. I intertwined my fingers and looked down at my hands. Everything was quiet until Winry got up.

"I'm going to get something to eat. You guys want to come?" she offered.

"Yes!" I said immediately. I swung my legs off of the bed and stood up. "I'm so hungry I could eat a cow."

"Why a cow?" Ed questioned the look on his face amused and confused.

"There's more meat on a cow?"

"Well come on. The next time you pass out could be from hunger," Winry said as she started for the door again.

I crossed my arms, trying to figure out what that reminded me of. It hit me like a slap.

"That sounds like Ling," I commented. I frowned and looked at the ceiling. "I wonder what happened to that creep anyway."

Ed scoffed. "I don't care what happened to him. That guy was way to much trouble."

I smirked at that before moving forward. "Are you two staying here?"

Ed sat down on the couch. "Yeah. Not really hungry right now."

"Suit yourselves," Winry said. We left the room and made our way outside.

We didn't talk much at first. After all we had barely anything in common with one another.

"Hey Myra," she said as we walked down an empty street.

"Hm?" I looked over at her.

"I was thinking about how Ed acted while we were on the train. He noticed things that I didn't and he was really protective of you. As long as I've known him I've never known him to be like that."

I raised an eyebrow at her questionably. "Where are you going with this?"

The corner of her mouth twitched upward and stayed. "You know what I'm talking about."

I turned my head away and looked straight ahead. I stuffed my hands into my pockets and said, "I'm not liking the direction this conversation is headed." A newspaper stand caught my attention. I strayed from the sidewalk to go over. My eyes went wide as I saw the headline.

"Myra!" Winry called.

Ignoring her entirely I unfolded the paper and began reading.

I heard her footsteps as she walked up to me. "What are you looking at?"

I had already read through almost half of the page when she craned her neck to see. I heard her gasp.

I handed off the paper to her and walked towards the direction of Central Command.

'Why the hell didn't Baker call to tell me? He knew where I was this whole time! And if he didn't he could have called up Colonel Creepy,' I thought angrily.

"Myra!" Winry called. "Where are you going now!?"

I turned and walked backwards. "I need to go somewhere! I'll be back at the hotel later!" I turned back and started running.

•••

Winry watched as Myra rushed down the street. Once she was out of sight she looked back at the paper.

'I wonder if Ed and Al know about this.'

A dark cloud seemed to hang over her head as she went back to the hotel to show the brothers.

•

I dug my hand into my pants pocket to show the guards my pocket watch. Once they'd let me in I hurried down the halls.

'Was it left or right?' I said as a crossway was approaching. I took a chance and turned left, colliding with a military officer.

I rubbed my head and sat up. "Damn it," I breathed. I looked up to see who I had crashed into. Sitting up on the floor in front of me was someone I wasn't happy to meet again.

•••

Ed frowned when he saw Winry as she barged into their room. She was gripping a newspaper, her hand covering the headline.

"Where's Myra?" he asked.

She stomped over and smacked his head with the newspaper. "Forget about her! Have you seen today's paper?"

He groaned and looked up at her. "No, of course I haven't." He grabbed to the paper and unfolded it. Al came over and read along with him.

The expression on his face was one of shock. As he scanned over the page questions filled his mind. He put the paper down and stood up.

"I think I know where Myra went," he said, starting for the door.

•

Mustang looked at me, his expressionless face now irritated.

"What are you doing here Miss Loken?" he questioned as he stood up. I did the same and looked up at him.

"My commanding officer is stationed here."

He nodded.

Remembering why I was here, I stood my ground and questioned him. "Why didn't you tell us?"

His expression was a mixture of curiosity and anger. "Tell you what?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Why didn't you tell us that Hughes was murdered?"

Sadness flashed in his eyes. He didn't respond.

I softened my expression and sighed. "I'm sorry for running into you, sir. Now if you'll please excuse me."

I stepped around him and made my way down the hall to Baker's office.

Without knocking I entered. He was busy with paper work at his desk.

"Oh it's you," he said, not particularly interested with my presence.

"Yeah it's me," I remarked. "So when were you planning on telling me that the Lieutenant Colonel was dead?"

He stopped what he was doing to look up at me. He sighed and set some papers down. His eyes met mine, expression sad. "I never planned on telling you. Mustang and I came to an agreement; the fewer hardships you kids face the better off you'll be."

My hands clenched into fists. "But how is leaving us in the dark supposed to be a good thing? You thought that we'd never think about these things, or that we'd never see a newspaper again? You had to have known that there was no real way to keep it from us. What was the point?"

He sighed. "Loken, I know that you don't understand but you will someday."

I stood there, rage threatening to come to the surface. I closed my eyes and held my breath, trying to keep calm.

"I have work that must be done. Go home," he ordered turning back to the papers.

I turned and walked to the door.

I set my hand on the door knob but didn't leave.

"I don't have a home anymore."

He looked up but I was gone by then.

•••

Ed, Al, and Winry walked towards the Central Command Center.

"You're positive that Myra is there?" Winry questioned as she looked at the two of them.

Ed sighed in exasperation. "Yes, now will you quit asking me that?"

Winry glared at him from behind.

As luck would have it Myra was coming from around a corner. Her hands were in fists and her head was hanging low.

Completely ignoring her state of being, Ed turned to Winry and said, "I told you."

Winry fumed at him and smacked him on the back of head. "You moron."

Myra looked up and noticed them. She started running, slowing down before she ended up crashing into them.

"Hey guys," she said. She glanced at Winry and frowned. "You told them?"

"I had to! They had just as much right as us to know."

Myra sighed. "Can we go back to the hotel? I'm not hungry anymore."

They all started walking back, not saying anything.

•

When we got to a certain street, I stopped following them and went my own way.

I glanced around until I found the building I was looking for.

For a brief moment I wondered if I'd thought this through.

I knocked on the door and took a step back.

I heard footsteps and the door opened. Miss Gracia looked down at me and smiled sadly.

"Hi," I said, smiling slightly in return. "I just heard about what happened."

She opened the door all the way and stepped to the side. "Come on in."

I nodded and walked inside.

Elicia poked her head around a corner. I smiled at her before sitting down on the couch.

Miss Gracia went into the kitchen for a moment before coming back out carrying a tray with two cups placed on it. She placed it on the coffee table and sat in front of me. I took a cup but didn't drink anything at first.

I looked up at her and said, "I know that I haven't known you and your family for very long, but I had to come here." Tears began to well up in my eyes. "It seemed like the right thing to do. Apologize, I mean. I feel as if I need to take some blame. It's only natural isn't it? Whenever an innocent person dies you blame yourself. Thinking that there could have been some way that that person could have stayed alive."

She stared into her teacup while I spoke, her own tears forming.

"Myra," she started, looking at me. "You don't have to feel like that. The only person that needs to feel like that is the killer himself. There's nothing anyone could have done."

A lump started to form in my throat as I set the cup down on the table. I looked down at the floor. "I know, but I can't help it."

Elicia came over and looked up at me. "Please don't cry big sister," she said before crawling up on the couch next to me.

I smiled at her innocence before wrapping my arms around her. Tears fell as she hugged me back.

•••

Ed was the first to realize Myra was no longer with them.

He sighed in exasperation. "Where the hell did she disappear to now?" he thought out loud.

"She'll come back when she comes back," Winry stated, the faintest amount of sadness in her words.

He looked at her with sad eyes. He hated seeing his friend so sad.

"I guess your right," he said before the three of them continued to walk on.

•

I stayed at the Hughes house for a total of ten minutes. The majority of that was spent talking to Miss Gracia, and the rest was spent with Elicia.

I heard the clock in the living room chime six times. I set Elicia down and stood up. I turned to face Miss Gracia. "Thank you for letting me in your home," I said with a respectful bow.

She smiled again. "You're welcome anytime. Elicia enjoys your company and if you ever need a place to go you can come to us."

I smiled back before leaving.

**A/N: So we've hopped back on the story line. Of course I fudged with the line up so that things will play out differently. **

**I actually have nothing to add, other than that I'm going to force my dad to watch Brotherhood this weekend. Maybe he'll finally stop looking at me as if I'm crazy when one of my fangirl moments come up!**

**Well peace and love!**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: I'm so sorry! I haven't updated in almost a month! There have been way too many distractions coming at me. First school ( I HATE biology. That's right; I'm looking at you Ms. Solomon!) and midterms, then anime, and I've been pretty occupied with other things that I'd rather not get into here.**

**Well carry on! You want to read so I'll let you.**

•

The streets were creepily empty as I walked back to the hotel.

_Death everywhere._

I stopped walking and scratched at my head in attempt to forget.

The vision continued to haunt me as I tried to shake it to the back of my mind.

_"I didn't show you that scene so you could forget it," _Truth's voice said inside of my head, his tone pissedoff._ "It's a warning. Be happy I showed it to you. You now know what to prevent from happening."_

"I still don't know how to prevent it. Also, I only wanted my past. You could've kept the future visions," I said, looking straight ahead.

"_The future is determined by what you humans have done and what you are currently doing. What your mother did to you as a child sealed only sealed your fate. You are being targeted and that future was brought on by the group of people targeting you. You and the Elrics, that is."_

"Ed and Al are involved in this as well?" I questioned.

Truth laughed a response. I sighed and began walking again.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" I asked him.

"_It's not much fun for me to see you running around clueless. Therefore, I'm giving you hints."_

"You're sick," I said, disturbed. "Now get out of my head."

Truth's voice faded out of my mind. I breathed a sigh of relief as I got to the hotel.

When I got to my room I knocked on the door. The door was locked and Winry had the key.

"Hey Winry, it's me," I said.

No response.

I knocked a few more times. "Come on, let me in," I said a little louder.

I glanced around me. I didn't want to bother anyone else, so I tried to refrain from being loud.

I huffed and turned back to the door. I made a fist and banged on the door. "Winry! Open up! It's me!" I called.

I frowned before looking around me again. A couple of people had stuck their heads out of their rooms to see what was going on. I bit the inside of my cheek and sighed.

'Good god. Why the hell isn't she answering?'

I turned back to the door and cleared my throat. "Winry! Open this door before I kick it in!" I screamed as I pounded on it.

There was still no response.

"Dammit," I muttered under my breath.

I turned and rested my back against the wall before sliding down. I pulled my legs to my chest and sighed.

'Is she mad because I went off on my own again?' I thought. I relaxed my head against my knees and puffed at my hair. 'That must be it. She's like our mom, always trying to make sure we don't do stupid crap.'

The door next to me opened. I raised an eyebrow as I turned my head.

Ed was leaning halfway out the door, his expression confused.

"Was that…"

I cut him off. "Yes I was the one banging on the door."

"Oh," he said, still somewhat confused. "Winry's in here with Al and me."

I stood up. "Okay." I walked into their room, only to find a wrench flying towards my face.

I quickly hit the ground to avoid it. I looked across the room to see an angry Winry.

"Where the hell were you!?" she screamed at me. "We've been waiting here for forever!"

I pushed my self up as I responded, "I went over to the Hughes' place to talk with Miss Gracia."

Her anger instantly washed away and sadness came back. "Oh," was all she said.

•••

The room grew entirely quiet. None of them knew what to say.

Myra stood up and looked around at them all.

Ed came back in and closed the door. He looked at Myra. "So what did you talk about?"

Myra's head moved to look up at him. He noticed that the skin under her eyes was red and slightly swollen.

'She must have been crying,' he thought as he regretted asking.

She turned away and walked over to the couch. She sat down and explained.

All was quiet when she was finished talking.

"What if Hughes died because of us?" Myra said softly as she looked down at her hands.

Winry raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"He was going to do more research on the Philosopher's Stone for us, and Truth said that a group of people were the ones responsible for the future I saw. What if Hughes found something that could expose that group's plans? That would've been the motive for killing him," she explained. Her hands clenched into fists.

Ed's eyes grew wide. He'd forgotten all about that possibility. His own hands made fists as he believed that they were responsible.

"What if that's really it?" Al said softly. The others turned towards the suit of armor. "What if Hughes died because of what he was doing for us?"

Guilt appeared on the faces of Myra and Ed.

Winry tried to fix things. "We don't know that for sure. They haven't found the killer, so for all we know it could have been something completely different."

Myra relaxed, but Ed was frozen in thought. The guilt he was feeling drowned out Winry's words.

•

The air was thick with various emotions. I glanced around the room and took notice of everyone's expressions.

Winry was smiling uncomfortably as she tried to cheer Al up. Al said nothing and seemed to be staring off in thought.

I turned around to look at Ed. His eyes had grown wide and his eyebrows were furrowed in worry. He was completely zoned out and didn't seem as if he was aware of anything that was going on.

'Crap. I should have kept my thoughts to myself,' I thought as I continued to look at him.

I reached out and pulled on his left sleeve. He was knocked out his trance and looked down at me. His gold eyes were filled with emotions I couldn't place.

I brought my hand back and attempted a smile. He sighed and looked over at Al and Winry.

After a moment I stood up. This caused everyone one to direct their attention to me.

"Where are you going now?" Winry questioned.

"I was going to go to the cafeteria downstairs," I said, pointing to the door. "I never had anything to eat earlier."

I didn't bother to wait for a response as I made my way to the door.

•

I stayed in the café even after I was done eating. I wasn't sure I wanted to go back.

'If Baker hadn't come for me I wouldn't be involved in any of this shit,' I thought as I rested my head against the table.

I sighed and closed my eyes. 'But if he hadn't, then I would still be in Dublith living on my own.'

"_What's the matter little alchemist?" _Truth said inside my head. _"It's not good to think back on your past actions. What's done is done, and there's no way to turn back time."_

"Go to hell you bastard," I growled.

"What'd I do to piss you off?" a voice behind me said.

I furrowed my brows in confusion. Sitting up I turned to look behind me. Ed was standing there.

I sighed before looking up to meet his gaze. "It's not you. Truth is invading my personal space."

"You mean he talks to you?" he asked.

I shrugged, before returning to my original position. "If you want to call it that you can. Making fun of me more like."

He didn't say anything in response.

"So why did you come down here anyway?" I questioned without looking at him.

"Winry said that she was going to bed. I figured you'd want to get back before you were locked out of your room."

I nodded and pushed the chair back. I stood up and stretched. My back had gotten sore after being folded against a table for a long period of time.

I glanced over at Ed. There was a melancholic expression on his face as he stared down at the floor.

I knew that he'd known Hughes for longer than me, but the way Ed looked at that moment made me sadder.

Deciding to leave him alone, I started to make my way to my room.

•••

Ed watched as Myra walked off. The sad look that was in her eyes, only made his depression worse.

'What if it really is our fault?' he thought as her figure turned around a corner. 'Winy will cry again and I don't know how Myra would react.'

He sighed and followed her path up the stairs to their hallway.

"Hey Brother?" Al said when Ed came into their room. "What are we going to do now?"

Ed flopped onto his bed, his face buried into his pillow. The conversation went nowhere, seeing as he was at a loss for words. He didn't know what would happen next.

•

I pulled my top up over my head to change into a pair of clothes I could sleep in.

I glanced over in Winry's direction. She was sitting on the couch, head hanging and hair in her face.

Sighing, I fixed my ponytail and walked over to the couch.

I sat down next to her. I nudged her shoulder to get her to look up.

My heart felt heavy as we made eye contact. The skin around her eyes was red, but not swollen; as if she were holding back the tears.

"Hey Myra, can I show you something?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

"Yeah I guess," I said, slightly confused.

She sniffed and stood up. She stepped over to her bag and pulled out something wrapped in cloth.

Winry set it on the table as she sat back down.

I stared at it blankly for a moment before asking, "So what is it?"

She allowed a small smile to creep up on her face. She reached over and untied it, revealing a golden-brown pie.

"Pie?" I commented as I stared.

Winry nodded. "I stayed with the Hughes' while you guys were in the hospital a while back. Miss Gracia showed me how to make it. I practiced some when I had time off back in Rush Valley."

She let her head hang as she continued. "I was hoping Mr. Hughes could try it when we saw him again."

My heart sank as she began sobbing. I reached over to hug her comfortingly. She cried on my shoulder for some time before her breathing rate reached a point of normalcy. Afterwards we both decided it was time to sleep.

We would need it. There would only be more hardships to come for us later.

**A/N: AND done. Sorry it's not as long as my previous chapters. I just thought that this would be a good place to stop.**

**Once again, I am so freaking sorry for not getting to this sooner. I had this chapter almost halfway done a couple weeks ago and just now finished it. Please forgive me.**

**Well that concludes this installment of TSSA. I will get around to writing more soon. I promise that you won't have to wait a month for another chapter. Au revior! *:-{)**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Greetings! As I write this authors note I am sitting on a couch watching the FMA:Bs I have recorded, typing a word document on my nook (yes, they can do that), while my Ed plushie sits next to me. I love fangirling *:-{)**

**In this chapter I try getting into more fluff. I'm not that good with fluff, so give me feedback later!**

**Happy reading!**

•

Sunlight shined on my face as I woke up. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Stretching I said, "You awake Winry?"

There was no response. I blinked and looked over at the empty bed next to me. The sheets were wrinkled and the pillow still had a dent in it.

Yawning, I stood up and glanced around the room. No one was there.

'Where did she go?' I thought.

Sighing, I got on my knees and opened up my suitcase. As I dug through it, trying to find okay smelling clothes, I noticed the picture.

It was as if everything was focussed on this one item, nothing existing except for me and the photograph. The world around me fell into an unsettling quiet as I picked it up. The faces of my siblings smiled at me innocently.

"You knew, didn't you?" I whispered. My hands were trembling as I looked it over. My voice gradually got louder as I kept going. "Liars. You both lied to me! You must have known what happened! How could you do that to me!?"

I threw the photo down. My voice shook as rage started to take over. "You bastard!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, my brother in mind. "Mom died for me, so what made you think it would work the next time!?"

I closed my eyes, trying to calm down. My breathing was heavy as anger surged through out my body. I wrapped my arms around my torso and folded over

I heard a click as the door opened.

"Myra? What's going on?" Winry's voice said. I listened as two pairs of footsteps came towards me.

"_Humans are such cruel creatures. Lying to even their own kin_," Truth said inside my head.

He was right and I couldn't argue. "Just shut up you son of a bitch!" I hissed. "Get the hell out of my head."

I felt like sobbing, but I couldn't. There was no sadness in anything I was feeling, only fury and betrayal.

"Myra," Ed's voice said. I heard genuine concern, instead of his usual smart ass attitude.

I felt his hands land on my shoulders, one heavy and one soft. I looked up at him through my bangs. Our eyes met and something inside of me snapped in half.

I lunged for him, wrapping my arms around his thick chest. I buried my face in his shirt and squeezed him tight, his warmth calming me down.

•••

Ed met Winry's gaze when Myra latched onto him. He was completely shocked at what had just happned.

He watched Winry as she reached over to grab something from the open suitcase. Her face fell. She turned around what she was holding and Ed began to understand.

He looked down at Myra, her body pressed tightly against him.

She said something, but all that they heard was a muffled sound.

"What?" he said, confused.

Myra pulled her head away before pressing the side of her face against him. Her eyes were closed and her voice was soft. "I want you to promise that you'll never lie to me. Be the one person that won't leave me in the dark."

Blood rushed to Ed's face as he blushed. He shot Winry a glare as she snickered.

'What the hell are you laughing at!?' he thought angrilly as he looked at his old friend.

Myra continued on and Ed looked back down. "My siblings and Baker, I trusted them but they all kept things from me. Things that I should have known. Please don't hurt me like they did." She stayed in the same positon as she waited for an answer.

There was still some confusion as to what she meant, but Ed nodded. "Yeah, sure."

The corners of her mouth twitched upwards. "Good."

Ed looked back at Winry. She seemed to be frustrated. She made gestures for him to hug Myra back, but he was clueless.

"Hug her!" she mouthed.

Finally getting it, Ed's face changed to a different shade of red, uncomfortable with what was going on.

"Just do it!" she mouthed, irritation clearly visable on her face.

Ed awkwardly wrapped his arms around Myra's small body, and she seemed to relax as he did so.

•

I smiled to myself as Ed returned the hug. For some reason I felt comforable like this. I could've stayed like that had it not been for Al walking in. The door hadn't gotten closed.

"Things always happen when you go out for walks," his little boy voice said, somewhat dissapointed.

My eyes grew wide and I pushed Ed away. I was almost certain my face was as red as his.

"So, uh. Can you guys get out?" I asked, face still red. "I need to get changed."

Ed nodded and stood up. He didn't say anything as he exited the room. Al followed him as usual. Winry got up and closed the door.

"So..." she started, stepping back towards me.

'Oh crap. Alone with her after something like that,' I thought nervously.

"What happened to make you lose it again?" she asked.

I blinked at her, somewhat confused at what direction she had taken the conversation, before reaching to grab the picture. "It's my brother, sister, and me. Their expressions in the photo confuse me. How can they be smiling knowing what happened and keeping it from me? It doesn't make sense. I would have exploded had I been in their place."

"No argument there," she commented as she stepped over to a different part of the room.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She shrugged. "I'm just saying that you're not very good at hiding any of your emotions. You were holding onto Ed for dear life just a minute ago."

My face grew warm as I blushed again. I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn't think of anything to say. I didn't say anything as I turned back to my suitcase.

'I probably look like a tomato by now,' I thought.

I pulled out a black tank top that I'd worn only a few times, along with a pair of long pants, the same things I always wore.

I grabbed the pants I'd worn the day before and unhooked the pocket watch. I pushed the pants aside and held the watch in my hand. The military dragon reminded me of something, but for some reason I couldn't place it. Sighing in defeat, I attached it to today's pants.

"Hey Myra," Winry called.

"What is it?" I asked. I changed clothes and yanked out my hair tie. I ran my hands through my hair and sighed. 'I need a bath. I'll take care of that later tonight.'

"How long have you been awake?" she asked as she came over.

I thought back to earlier as I untangled my hair. "A few minutes before you guys came in, I guess."

"So not very long," she said, changing my answer so that it suited her tastes. She walked back over. "I haven't eaten lunch yet. Do you want to get something to eat?"

I fixed my hair as I thought, 'Is it really that late?'

"I guess, though the last time we went out we found out someone died," I answered.

Winry bit her lip and sighed as my comment sank in. "We can just go down to the cafeteria," she suggested.

I nodded. "Sure. Just let me finish getting dressed."

"Kay," she said, turning to get her shoes.

I lifted mine up off the floor and looked down at my feet. Sighing, I shoved my automail foot into my boot before the other.

'Life sucks, then you find a way to move on," I thought as I slipped my arms into my blue sweater. 'Time to start moving.'

•••

Ed and Al walked back into their room.

"What was going on back there?" Al asked his big brother as the door closed behind him.

"Myra broke again. A picture set her off this time," Ed responded. His face was still pink.

Al nodded in understanding. "Truth must have done something to really mess with her head," he commented. "For as long as we've known her she's never seemed the type that would stay broken for so long. Even with everything that's happened, I'd have thought her normal self would have taken over somewhere along the way. Back in Dublith she yelled at me for sounding depressed."

The corner of Ed's mouth twitched upwards as he thought back to when Myra pulled Al's head off. His smile faded as he remembered what Myra had said before he went up to her.

"_Just shut up you son of a bitch_!"

Ed frowned as he though, 'What the hell was Truth doing to her?'

"Brother?" Al said, his voice curious. "What's wrong?"

Ed was knocked back into the real world as he looked over at his little brother.

"Uh, nothing. Just thinking."

Al nodded and walked to a different part of their room.

Ed closed his and sighed, mostly in irritation.

'The next time I see that bastard he's going to regret messing with her.'

•

I slouched in my seat and rested my chin on the table, glaring at my now empty milk bottle.

Frowning, I thought back to when I was getting my new leg. "If milk makes you grow, I should be the size of Major Armstrong by now," I grumbled.

"I don't think it works that way," Winry commented.

I looked up at her, one eyebrow raised. "But aren't you the one who said milk makes you grow?"

"Well yeah, but even so I don't think that just drinking milk will make you grow taller..."

"Then why do you yell at Ed whenever he doesn't drink his milk?" I questioned, sitting up now. There was an evil smile on my face as Winry tried to explain herself.

"I... Uh..." She couldn't think of anything to respond with.

My smile faded as I sighed. I folded my arms and glanced up at her with a look of seriousness. "Hey," I started. "Why did you want me to come get lunch with you? I mean, yeah Al can't eat and would be a third wheel, but you guys have known each other for forever."

She shrugged. "I don't know actually."

I looked at her with a confused face. "Why don't I believe that?"

"I really don't know," she said defensivly. "I mean, I had something I wanted to say, but I forgot it."

I snorted a laughed. "Good going Win."

She huffed as she sat back in her chair, throwing her napkin down on top of her now clean plate.

"Well, should we go back?" I suggested, pushing my chair back.

"Might as well," she said.

She stood up and I followed her lead back to the room.

When we got back, I took the opprotunity to get clean.

I looked in the bathroom, finally noticing that this was a hotel where the showers are in a different part of the of the building.

I sighed and turned to Winry. "Hey Win," I called.

"Hm?" she responded.

I pointed at he door. "I'm in desperate need of a shower, so I'll be gone for half an hour at most."

She nodded. "You sure you don't want to do it later?"

I nodded this time. "Yeah. If I go later, it'll be more crowded."

"Okay I guess," she said, turning to do her own thing.

I closed the door to our bathroom and walked out into the hall. Sighing, I walked down the hall and into the shower room.

There were towels lined up along the wall. I examined the various stalls, making sure no one was there, before I undressed.

The water came out warm and soothing. I mentally smiled as the sound of rushing water calmed me.

"_Enjoy this while you can human. The death of your friend has only triggered the outcomes of following events._"

I growled at the voice in my head. "Go away you perverted creep," I threatened.

"_I'm just warning you about future events. As my eyes, I'm trusting you to be the one that brings this to an end_."

I closed my eyes and turned my head up at the showerhead. Water hit my eyelids as I thought about my unwanted memories.

"_So you've finally accepted them as yours_," he said as he happily invaded my thoughts. I could almost see his smug grin. "_Glad to know_."

I opened my eyes and looked at the wall. "Go away. There's not much you could show me in a shower."

"_Care to make a bet on that_?"

My body froze as I spoke. "No I don't, and I don't want you sucking my soul out of me again. God only knows what kind of toll I'll have to pay this time."

"_Luckily for you I'm something like 'God', so care to see what lies ahead?_"

I shook my head. "No! I don't give a damn about what happens! I'll find out on my own."

"_Oh, but where's the fun in that_?" he said in a dissapointed tone. "_How about a glimpse_?"

I continued shanking my head. "No way."

The water began to lose it's heat and my body started feeling numb.

"Damn you!" I cried out. I lost my ability to balance and fell to the tile floor.

"_No, you're the one who commited the taboo. You had every chance to turn your back away, but you chose your traitor of a brother. I'll never understand_."

"Stop," I whispered as the light faded.

It was too late. Everything went dark and my world went silent except for one voice.

"_You're such a wonderful toy_."

**A/N: Mwahaha! Cliff hanger! I'm evil, am I not?**

**Myra: My body is in a shower without its soul! Yeah, you're one evil bitch all right.**

**Hopeless: Be glad you're still in one piece. I could be worse if I really wanted.**

**Myra: (glare)**

**Please review! Last I looked I have almost 4000 view on this fanfiction. I'm sad that the number of reviews isn't anywhere near that. Make Hopeless a happy author by reviewing once in a while. **

**Love ya guys! Peace out! *:-{)**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Hopeless is back! Unless you haven't noticed, my cover has changed some. First it was my profile pic, then a drawing I did, but now it's the title in Japanese.**

**Anyways, how did you guys like my last chapter? Truth has returned to mess with our heroine again. Poor Myra, stuck in a shower. Let's find out what happens next shall we? **

•

_Surrounded by a vast white nothingness. This is what it feels like to be in Truth's realm of existence._

_I looked at the sight before me and clenched my fists; that bastard was sitting there with my leg and a giant grin on his face. The only other thing in sight was a massive door with intricate designs decorating it._

_"Don't you ever get bored with this?" I asked as I folded my arms across my chest. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was wearing my regular clothes._

_"Never. How could I get bored with a toy as entertaining as you?"_

_I glared at him. "Don't call me your toy."_

_"Hm? What would you rather I call you?" _

_I bit my cheek as I thought. "Human? Little girl? Something along those lines. But I'm not your toy."_

_"So you wish that I call you by what you are like to your friends?"_

_I shrugged. "I guess."_

_Sighing, his smile faded." You don't get it. All of you humans are my toys. You're just more special than the rest."_

_I scoffed. "How touching."_

_"Of course. As your God I can make the rules for how things should work in your world. Those who break my rules get punished. You've met a few people in these past couple months who have suffered the consequences."_

_"Ed, Al, and Izumi," I listed off as I thought._

_He nodded. "Correct. All of them are in as much danger as you. As previously mentioned, I'm trusting you to fix everything. Of course there will be some help from those around you."_

_"Great," I thought out loud, knowing I would be heard either way. "The fate of this country rests on the shoulders of a teenage girl."_

_I sighed and frowned at the annoyance before me._

_"Well you've got me here, so what did you want me to see?"_

_The grin reappeared. "You know what to do," he said, gesturing to the large door behind him._

_I sighed as it opened. I stepped forward as the black hands came out to grab me. _

_They began pulling me forward and I relaxed, allowing them to do so. It seemed useless to try and struggle at this point in time._

_Before I was pulled through I said, "Make sure no one bothers my body while it's still over there."_

_His voice cut me like a knife. "I'll make no promises on that."_

_I seethed and began kicking the arms off of me. I struggled to face him. "You bastard! Who do you think you are!?"_

_His grin went smug. "You already know the answer to that."_

_I stuck my foot in the way as the doors began to close. I grabbed the doors and pushed out, trying to get it to open. Truth frowned._

_"Why do you humans always have to make things so difficult?"_

_I glared at him. The hands began pulling even harder. Eventually my hands slipped._

_The doors didn't close completely. I was pulled back though; all the while Truth wore a sick grin. _

_"Enjoy this while you can human. I have an interesting toll prepared for you."_

•••

Winry looked up at the clock. She frowned at the time. She'd been aware of the fact that Myra would be gone for about 30 minutes, but after an hour had passed she became more than concerned.

She pushed aside the work she'd brought from Rush Valley and stood up to leave.

Ed and Al were walking down the hall, heading back to their room.

"What's going on?" Ed asked when he saw the panic on Winry's face.

She didn't stop walking as she answered, "I think something's happened to her."

Ed knew who she was talking about. He picked up his pace to talk to her. "You mean she wasn't with you?"

"No. An hour ago she went to take a shower before it got crowded later.

Ed hesitated before he continued on.

'Crap. I can't ignore this, but it's not like I'll be much help,' he thought as he clenched his fists. 'Why couldn't she cause trouble in a place more public?'

Winry stopped in front of the shower room and turned to face the brothers. "Unless I give you permission, you both stay here," she ordered before heading in.

Winry looked around at the various stalls. There was only one running. She headed over and knocked on the door.

"Hey Myra," she called. Her heart sank when there was no answer.

When she twisted the knob she was surprised to find it open.

She slowly opened the door. Her eyes grew wide and her face paled.

Myra was slumped in a heap on the shower floor, face white and body unmoving.

Winry reached to turn the water off. She kneeled down and touched her friend's shoulder. She froze, shocked to find that the body was cold.

"Myra," she whispered. "Why is this happening?" She pulled her out and into the aisle.

Winry grabbed a couple of towels and carefully wrapped Myra's body up, keeping her arms free in case she woke up and started panicking. She lied her down and stood up.

Winry forced a door open and looked at the brothers, who were casually standing in the hall. "I'm going to need help with some things," she said, trying to sound calm.

Ed automatically knew something bad had happened. He frowned as he looked over her shoulder. When he saw the unconscious, towel clad Myra he didn't know how to react.

•

_The arms let me go and a new scene appeared. It seemed similar to the first vision, but there was something off. There were no dead bodies, but the scenery still reminded me of the last one._

_I looked down at everything and took notice of various landmarks, namely the prison. There were several MP cars stationed outside of it. Beyond the prison was the empty lot that had once been the fifth lab. My chest throbbed as I thought back to the wound I'd received._

_A large explosion from the opposite end of the street became the object of my attention._

_Flames shot about 10 meters up, lighting up the dark buildings of this night time scene._

_I squinted my eyes as I tried to get a better look. The scene zoomed in and I saw the silhouette of a person against a wall. As the flames died down the identity of the person became clearer. _

_As if on cue, the scene went black and I was pulled back to Truth._

_"Let's stop it there," he said. "You're toll is in need of being paid."_

_I hissed and glared at the bastard. _

_"What the hell was that!?" I screamed. "You pulled my soul out of my body to show me that!? Who was that and what just happened!?" I inhaled deeply, knowing that if I pissed him off to much there'd be an even worse price to pay. "This is crazy," I muttered, fists now clenched._

_He sighed. "I suppose your right. How about we make a deal; keep me entertained, and I won't bother you unless you come on your own. Does that sound good?"_

_I continued to glare at him, annoyed that he wasn't answering my original questions. "Fine. I'm never coming back here again, and I'm never going to pay another toll like this ever again."_

_His expression went smug. "Be careful what you say."_

_The scene faded into darkness as my soul traveled back._

•••

Ed ended up being the one to carry Myra back. His face was red as he went into the showers.

He gently pushed his arms underneath her body and lifted her up. His face lost some of its color as he looked her over. She looked like she was dead or dying.

Her head rested against his metal arm and her arms were folded on top of her chest. Her long hair dripped water onto the floor. Ed could feel that her body was cold, almost frozen.

'She's so small. If Winry was stronger maybe she could've carried her back to their room,' he thought as he stepped out into the hall. Winry had gone in and grabbed Myra's clothes and Al was standing there with nothing to do.

As they made their way into Winry's room, Ed noticed Myra's face. It was regaining color and he felt that her body was warming up.

Her chest heaved and she began breathing deep, even breaths.

"Myra?" he said in a soft voice.

"Hm?" she moaned, opening her eyes some. Light shined off of her violet irises. "Ed?"

•

I thought that I'd find myself back in the shower room, but no. I opened my eyes to see Ed looking down at me.

"Yeah it's me," he answered. His face was pink as he spoke. "Uh, are you okay?"

"I guess so," I said, finally noticing how hoarse my voice was.

When I tried shifting my position, I found my arms bare and the rest of me wrapped in a towel. After a moment I realized that Ed was carrying me.

I felt blood rush to my face as it turned a bright red. "How long have I been out of it?" I thought out loud.

"An hour or so I think," Winry answered. "I'm not sure exactly when you passed out, but you'd been gone for about that long."

I turned to see her and noticed that there were some spots on her clothes that were wet.

Sighing I thought, 'She must've pulled me out. Why did she bother? It's not as if I've ever done anything for her.'

Ed set me down on the couch while Al waited in the hallway. He didn't say anything as he joined his little brother.

Winry put my clothes down on the coffee table and closed the door.

I shifted my position on the couch and looked down at my hands. "Why?" I asked simply.

Winry frowned as she turned around to face me. "What do you mean?"

I met her gaze and said, "Why would you help me?"

She stared at me and didn't say anything.

"All this time," I continued, "you guys have been helping me. Every time something happens to me you guys are always there. I don't get it."

Winry exhaled. "You alchemists are all so frustrating."

I frowned at her, one eyebrow raised. "Huh?"

She stepped forward and sat down next to me. "You don't always have to follow your equivalent exchange rule. People can do things and not expect something in return."

I blinked and stared at her, not sure how to react.

"Stop asking questions and just let the people around you help," she said in a forceful tone. "Now get dressed."

I nodded as she stood up. I grabbed my clothes from off of the table and went to change in the bathroom. Winry may have pulled me out of the shower, but I was still uncomfortable with the situation I was in.

When I came back out I saw Ed sitting on the couch next to Winry. Al was no where to be seen.

I stood in the doorway, unsure of what to say to him. I stayed frozen like that until Ed spoke.

"What happened this time?" he asked.

I blinked and walked over. I sat on the chair across from him and met his gaze.

"Truth started talking to me and pulled my soul out of my body. He showed me another scene from the future. It's not as far ahead as the last one. This one was different. There were a bunch of MP cars outside of the Central Prison. While I was focused on that there was an explosion. I don't know what caused it, but as the flames died down I noticed someone standing there."

"Do you know who it was?" Ed asked, somewhat urgently.

I sighed. "No clue. Truth pulled me back before I got the chance."

I closed my eyes and tried to think. As I remembered the scene, I pulled in one detail I had missed previously. I touched my hand to my chin and opened my eyes. I looked at him again and said, "I think it was someone from the military."

Ed frowned. "The military?"

"Yeah. I didn't see the face, but I think that I saw a uniform."

Ed's eyes grew wide before he looked down at his lap, a scowl on his face.

"Ed?"

•••

Ed knew of only one person that could cause an explosion and control it so easily.

'But that doesn't make sense,' he thought. 'Why would Mustang be in her vision? He's not stationed here.'

Something landed on his shoulder. He looked up and saw a frowning Myra.

She waved her hand in front of his face. "Yoo hoo. Don't tell me Truth is messing with you too."

The corner of his mouth twitched before he shook his head. "It's not like that."

"Then what's up?" she asked, sitting back on the table.

"I was thinking about Colonel Mustang," he said.

"Huh," she said. "I actually ran into him yesterday, now that you mention it. Literally actually."

"Why didn't you tell me that earlier?" he growled.

Myra blinked. "It seemed pretty insignificant."

Ed let his head hang in irritation.

"Why were you thinking of him anyway?" she asked.

He looked back up at her. "I think the person in that scene was the Colonel."

Her eyes grew wide in disbelief. "How did you come to that conclusion?" she questioned.

"He was a war hero back during the Ishvallan Extermination."

Myra gulped as she thought about that.

"He's able to use alchemy that allows for controlled explosions, similar to the one you told us about."

Winry looked at him, nervous. "So the person she's talking about..."

"Might be him," he finished.

Myra seemed to be in a state of shock. She was staring off into space, eyes wide.

Ed frowned and said, "Uh, Myra? What are you looking at?"

"Hm?" she said, snapping back into reality. "Oh nothing. I was just thinking."

Ed nodded, though he wasn't convinced that was all.

•

I bit the inside of my cheek as I thought.

'Why would Colonel Creepy cause an explosion like that?'

I thought back to the prison and the cars. 'What happened?'

I closed my eyes, trying to recall every detail that might have been overlooked.

When nothing else came up I half expected Truth to intrude. Thankfully my sanity was no longer in danger in those terms.

I opened my eyes and looked at my hands.

'Whatever happens happens I guess. Not much I can do.'

The words Truth had told me shoved their way into my thoughts; _'I'm trusting you to fix everything__**.'**_

I continued staring. 'This is crazy. How am I supposed to fix things when the future has been planned out like this for years?'

"Myra?" a voice said, forcing its way into my mind.

I blinked and looked at Ed, our eyes meeting.

The corner of my mouth twitched upward, but didn't stay there.

"I guess that's my answer," I muttered softly as I looked back down. 'The help from those around me.'

A loud crashing sound startled me. I fell off of the edge of the coffee table and onto my side.

"Ow," I moaned as I pushed myself back up into a sitting position.

"You guys!" Al's voice shouted.

I turned my head to look at the suit of armor standing in the doorway.

"What is it?" Winry asked, standing up to meet him. Ed glanced at me before joining her.

"Today's paper," he said frantic. Winry took it from him and her eyes went wide.

I pushed myself up using the couch and walked over to them. I saw the headline and my jaw dropped. I read more of the article and my shock deepened.

_Second Lieutenant Maria Ross has been arrested of being the primary suspect of the murderer of Brigadier General Maes Hughes. The suspect in question is being held in the Central Prison._

I stepped away and put my face in my hands. I shoved my hair back and my bangs fell down, covering part of my face. I didn't care about my hair this time. I couldn't believe anything that was happening.

"This has to be a mistake," I thought out loud. "There's just no way..."

Ed seethed in fury. "Why weren't we told about any of this!?" he asked no one.

'Baker didn't say anything about this,' I thought as I paced, arms folded across my chest. 'It takes time to write articles. This has to have been going on for a while now.'

Ed pushed the paper away and marched out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Winry questioned, sticking her head out the door.

I forced my boots on and grabbed my dark blue coat. "Same place as me," I answered, "Central HQ."

I ran into the hall to catch up with him. Al came following behind me.

When we got outside my heart seemed to skip a beat. I stood frozen as I stared at the scenery around me.

'This has to be it. This is what Truth showed me.'

"Myra!" Ed called, knocking me out of my daze. "If you're coming with us hurry up!"

I started running after him, my hands busy tying up my hair.

We tried taking various shortcuts, all of them leading to somewhere completely different.

"You're getting us lost!" I shouted in between breaths.

"Then you lead the way," Ed said, frustrated.

I huffed and ran faster. I grabbed his hand and pulled him down the next turn. I had to hit the brakes hard when I noticed the shapes of some people.

"You guys!?" a familiar voice said.

I frowned and looked closer. My eyes grew wide when I saw who it was.

"Second Lieutenant!?" I exclaimed, not paying attention to those around her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ed shouted.

"Heh, hi guys," Ling said.

I listened as Alphonse came from behind me.

At the same time Al and the last guy screamed, "Ah! What are you doing here!?"

I was completely confused with the people that were around me.

"Lieutenant, what's going on here?" I asked while the others yelled at each other.

"Miss Loken..."

She was cut off by the last guy, who was wearing very ugly armor.

"Go down that alley baby doll," the guy said to her. "This darkness oughta hide you."

I looked at her with sad eyes as she ran off.

"You're gonna have to get through me if you want her," the guy said.

I grimaced at him. I clapped my hands and hit the ground, lifting him up a few feet to give me space to get around him. I started running.

My heart jumped again and I winced.

'What's going to happen!?' I thought angrily.

I found myself running towards nothing when I finally realized I'd lost her.

"Dammit!" I screamed.

A massive explosion from the alley next to me caught my attention.

My heart caught again. I held my chest as I began running over.

My eyes grew wide at the sight before me; the Colonel standing in front of what looked like a burnt corpse. There was a sick expression on his face.

"What are you doing here Silver Steel?" he questioned me.

I didn't know what to say. I felt sick to my stomach with the sight before me. My knees gave and I fell forward, my hands catching me.

"Myra!" I heard Ed's voice call.

I pushed myself up to a sitting position. "What did she ever do to you?" I whispered angrily.

I threw my head up and looked into his eyes. "What reason did you have!?" I screamed.

I felt a pair of hands grab my shoulders from behind and my body went still.

'Ed?'

"What's going on here Colonel!?" he exclaimed, his hands still on my shoulders.

"There were orders to shoot to kill, so I killed her," the man said simply.

I felt sick, but my body stayed still. I continued staring at the ground while my heart pounded, trying to think of something else.

"You bastard!" he screamed. I felt his hands leave my shoulders. My mind started to shut down, trying to get away from everything that was happening.

"No Brother!" Al's voice echoed.

"But he killed her!" Ed's called.

"Pretty bold of you to raise your hand against your commanding officer," Mustang commented.

My heart pounded even more, so much so that my own thoughts were drowned out with the sounds of it beating.

Everything around me turned into nothing but a series of echoes and various words.

'I'm trusting you to fix everything.' The memory of Truth's words forced everything out of the way, silencing everything around me.

I shook my head, the pounding driving me to insanity once again.

"I can't fix this," I said softly. "Nothing can."

**A/N: So how's that for a chapter? I kinda wanted to stop it sooner than this, but everything inside of me was screaming "MORE!" I started this on Friday and spent the majority of the weekend trying to finish/revise it all at once. **

**So this is where we end. Not end end, but chapter end. Yeah, you guys get it. You just want to read more, so I'll get to work on the next chapter. But please review! I'm begging! I can't threaten you with Myra, 'cause she's in shock right now. But still review! Everyday more people read, yet there are no reviews. If I can get to 50 reviews within this month, that will be the best early Christmas present ever.**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Hello my readers! Awesome news! Madi-chan and I will be going to an anime con together next March. She's forcing me to do Final Fantasy cosplay, but I'm not complaining. (For those of you who don't know, Madi is my other best friend. I think I've mentioned Lexi (Ocean). I can't decide who I love more, so they've both been labeled as best).**

**(Sigh) You guys don't care, you want to read. So I'll cut this note here. Happy readings!**

•••

Ed grimaced when Al held him back.

"Stop it Brother! It won't change anything!" Al screamed.

Myra's soft voice cut through the commotion. "I can't."

Ed stopped trying to attack Mustang and looked down at Myra. She was still hunched over on the ground.

'What's going on?' he thought, forehead furrowed in frustration.

The object of his attention changed once again as cars drove up. The headlights illuminated the alley way.

A handful of military officials stepped out and walked over.

"What is the meaning of this Colonel?" a stern man wearing glasses said as he came into view.

"I was following orders," Mustang said simply.

The man growled. "I'll deal with you later. Right now these children should be dealt with. What are they doing here?"

"Edward Elric, his brother, and Myra Loken," Mustang listed off as he looked over the area. "They all have ties to the military, and for some reason they got involved in this situation."

The man huffed. "Fullmetal and Silver Steel, huh? Two examples of what I don't get about our country's military system."

"Be careful, sir. I don't think the higher ups would be too happy to hear that."

Ed glared at the men before looking back at her. Her body shivered and he heard faint whispers coming from her direction. His expression turned into one of concern for his friend.

He moved Al's arms off of him and stepped over to her.

•

My chest got tighter, as if my body was about to burst.

'If this is the price of a vision coming true, then I don't want to know what will happen with the next one,' I thought as I struggled to breathe.

"Hey! Let's get a doctor over here!" a stranger's voice said, the first I'd heard in what felt like forever.

My eyes went wide as I stared at the ground. 'No!' I wanted to scream. 'No doctors and no hospitals!'

I opened my mouth to speak, but my chest tightened even more. I grimaced and groaned in pain.

"No," someone said. "Don't bother. We'll take care of her."

My vision blurred even worse and the sounds faded out again. The only reason I knew I was still consious was because I could feel the cold.

I felt my muscles tense and I began shake slightly. The familiar set of hands landed on my shoulders once again. This time he was in front of me and I could see the outline of his legs on the ground.

"Myra," Ed's firm voice said. "You have to calm down."

'Idiot! That's not it!' I wanted to yell. 'I'm not doing this!'

I closed my eyes and groaned again, the pain getting worse.

'Make it stop! Someone make him stop!'

The hands left my shoulders and I found myself being pressed against his chest. His warmth was comforting and calming.

'What the... What the hell is he doing?' I thought as my chest tightened once more. With another groan, I clenched my fists hard enough to almost draw blood.

"Calm down," Ed said.

When he said that, my chest loosened and I found it easier to breathe. I inhaled deeply, as if to make sure my mind wasn't messing with me.

I stayed like that for a few minutes, trying to stabilize myself. I eventually relaxed my hands. My palms stung as the now sensitive skin was hit with the cool air around me.

"I don't want to break again," I whispered under my breath, to soft for anyone to hear. My hands gripped my pant legs. I sighed and opened my eyes. I glanced up at him and took in every detail.

His expression was calm but I could see the various emotions in his eyes; concern mixed with anger and sadness.

I looked down at the ground. 'You can't break. You're too strong for that,' I thought.

•••

Ed kept a hold on Myra as she trembled. Once the shaking stopped and she was breathing, he relaxed some, but he was still frustrated.

'What happened?' he thought with a frown. 'Why the hell is Truth doing this?"

Myra looked up at him. Her face was flushed and her eyes looked tired.

"Can we go now?" she asked him, voice rough.

He blinked before nodding. "Yeah. Let's go."

"Hold it!" the man in glasses said. He walked over and stared them down. "I'm going to need some information before you even think about leaving."

Ed let go of her and looked the man in the eyes, glaring at him. "What do you want?"

"You three kids were the only ones in the area at the time. You may have some answers as to what went down here."

Ed continued to glare. "We came after Mustang had already killed her. We didn't see anything."

"Why exactly were you looking for him?"

"We wanted to ask him about the second lieutenant. We saw the paper and wanted answers."

The man returned the glare and they stared each other down. He didn't respond and walked back.

With a huff Ed turned to Myra. The girl looked as if she was about to pass out.

"Come on," he said as he stood.

Myra nodded as she struggled to push herself up. Once she'd done so she grabbed onto Ed's arm. He raised an eyebrow and looked down at her.

"I can't really walk," she defended, irritation in her voice.

Ed sighed, not particularly caring at this point. "It's fine. Let's go."

They walked over to Al. He joined them and they walked back.

•

It was almost painful to move. With every supported step I forced myself to stay upright, trying not to pull Ed down.

'When I get my hands on that bastard he's going down,' I thought angrily.

I shook my head and thought, 'No! I'm never seeing him again. He's just going to do this to me again. I'm his _toy.'_

By the time I could see our hotel, I could stand mostly on my own. I continued to lean on Ed as we walked in. Of course the first person we saw was Winry.

"Oh great," she complained. "What happened this time?"

I let go of Ed and sighed. My legs trembled slightly as I stood. "Truth got what he wanted from me for the toll."

She slumped where she stood. "This is getting annoying," she grumbled.

I clenched my fists. "You think that's annoying? Try having your soul sucked from its body multiple times, or having some invisible force keep you from being able to breathe. I'm barely keeping myself up right now!"

She looked up at me, an apologetic look on her face. "Myra, I..."

"Don't bother," I said. My fists tightened as I snapped. I took one shaky step after another, making my way up to my room.

As I went up the stairs, I struggled to keep my legs stable.

'Come on, don't fail me now,' I thought as I worked my way up.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I was able to flop on my bed and relax. I found myself asleep within minutes, and enjoyed whatever peace I could get.

•••

Winry and the brothers parted ways soon after Myra left them.

She walked into her room and sighed. Myra had passed out without bothering to do anything.

As she changed into different clothes, she looked over at Myra.

'I should apologize later. I wasn't thinking of how complicated this has been for her.'

Winry went to bed minutes later. She slept soundly, nothing bothering her.

•

My peace didn't last very long. Nightmares haunted me as I slept.

_"You killed them. You let them die," the _voices taunt. Shadowy faces creep up on me from all directions. _"They lied, but you killed."_

I inched backwards, trying to get away. "No, it wasn't me! The doctors killed Sister and Truth killed Brother!" I screamed, my voice echoing back at me. I shuddered as one of the shadows came closer, staring me in the eyes.

_"You killed them. You could have told the doctors, but you chose to watch as your sister's life faded away. You could have ignored your brother's pleas, but you helped him. Had you ignored it, you wouldn't have been caught it this tangle of events. His death would have been his own doing."_

I closed my eyes, and held my head in my hands. "Go away! I didn't kill them!"

_"Oh, but you did."_

Tears streamed down my face as I screamed. "I didn't! I swear I didn't!"

_"Swear all you want. It doesn't change the fact that you're responsible."_

"I'm not! Why blame me!? There's so many other things you could blame, so attack them! Leave mealone!"

The voices ignored my cries. A new set began taunting me as well._ "An amazing web you've spun isn't it? You killed your mother, then when your sister took her place you let her die as well. Finally, you had to get rid of the last of them. You killed your brother off. You've planned this haven't you?"_

I shook my head furiously. "I haven't," I whispered. "That's not right. I didn't want to get rid of them. I loved them."

Tears continued to fall through my closed eyes, spilling down the sides.

_"Then why do you blame yourself?"_

I held my breath when the voices said this. When I opened my eyes they grew wide. There was one giant eye with a violet iris staring me down.

_"Well answer me. You blame yourself, so how can you say you didn't kill them?"_

My jaw dropped. "I..."

My words trailed off. I couldn't argue. My head hung in shame. The faces smiled evilly.

"I hurt everyone, cause trouble for everyone," I said eventually, words shaky. "Everywhere I go someone gets hurt or something breaks. Nothing happens the way it should. I had to have killed them, because I was the one that could save them. I let them die."

"Shut up!" a different, clearer voice said. "You didn't kill anyone! It wasn't your fault!"

I shook my head again. "It must have been me."

A hard hand slapped me across the face. For a dream, it felt real enough.

"Snap out of it already!" the voice commanded. "You're blaming yourself to hide everything!"

I continued shaking my head. "I can't. I killed them."

"Shut up! It wasn't you! I know..."

The voice trailed off, leaving me.

I opened my eyes and saw the ceiling of the hotel room. My body was shaking and my hands were gripping the sheets.

'That was the worst one yet. Normally it's just shadows. This time they talked,' I thought, letting go of the sheets. I sat up and put my face in my hands. 'My own mind has become my worst enemy.'

I heard the mattress on the bed next to me creak. I glanced over and saw a lumpy shape, obviously Winry.

Sighing, I swung my legs over the edge and stood. I smoothed out my clothes and stepped out of the room.

'I hope this trip out doesn't give Truth an excuse to mess with me.'

A cool breeze brushed over me as I exited the building. It felt nice and relaxing.

Crossing my arms, I walked down the street. As I got farther away from the hotel the gears in my head turned. Thoughts about anything and everything pushed themselves to the front. It took forever to make my way to the important ones.

Memories from the visions came up. The one of my mother was first.

I stepped to the side and leaned against a building wall. I folded my arms over each other and closed my eyes. The whole scene repeated itself in my mind. I clenched my hands again, digging into the still tender skin.

I imagined the room and looked over everything. The only things that didn't seem right were the room and the Philosopher's stone.

'Where was that house? It couldn't be the one back in Dublith. I'd never seen a room with that layout.'

As my thoughts got more involved, I got more frustrated.

'That bastard chose a pretty damn irritating time to mess with me. If he hadn't bothered me to begin with then we'd just be a bunch of depressed kids.'

I continued to tighten my fists as I replayed bits and pieces. I struggled to black out the unnecessary parts; the ones that made this vision so horrible.

I pulled together every detail that would help me to understand what was going on.

My eyes opened suddenly as I noticed something. On the dresser was a picture frame. Sunlight was glaring off of the glass, and I could barely make out who was in the photograph. I could clearly see Brother and Sister, as they were small enough to not get hit with the glare. There were two other figures, however, and I assumed my mother was one of them.

'No one in my family has ever talked about who my father is, though I never bothered asking. I assumed he was long gone. What if he's out there?'

I slid my back against the wall and sat down. 'I don't have time for that. And what good would it do?'

I pulled my knees to my chest and hugged them. Eventually I realized my hands were still in fists. When I opened them I winced. I held them up to the light and groaned, mostly in irritation.

Each of my hands had four cuts in the palm. Blood was starting to rush up them, wanting to close the wounds.

'Damn,' I thought as I stood up. 'I need to stop this.'

I looked around trying to get an idea of where I was. I ran down the street, noticing the hotel lights.

I flew in and ran to my room. I fumbled with the door knob, trying not to get blood on it.

I quietly snuck in and went into the bathroom.

I turned on the light and twisted the faucet handle. I stuck my hands under the running water and bit my lip, the cold water not helping me to feel better.

I turned the water off and looked in the drawers for any kind of bandage. All I found was a couple of hand towels.

'Good enough,' I thought as I clapped my hands. I hit the two pieces of fabric and watched as they changed shape and formed two long bandages.

I wrapped up my hands and left the bathroom.

I looked at the window and smiled slightly. I stepped over and looked between the curtains. There was something comforting about the way the sunrise came in, lighting up the city from behind.

'Things are only going to get more hectic, but I'm going to enjoy this moment while I can. Who knows what kind of crap is waiting for us?'

**A/N: Seems like a decent place to end. I've been doing a lot of cliff hangers. **

**So! The cover has changed again! Guess what it is! Myra and Ed! And I drew it! Yup, I'm proud of how it turned out. If you want to see a bigger picture, just check out my deviantART. I go by the same name, but with a hyphen. There's a version with color and one without. I made sure to keep Myra small, so she's a head or so shorter.**

**Well please review! Seriously! Almost 5000 views please review.**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: I have returned with chapter 27! So many chapters and we're still only a quarter way through the series. And in a little more than a month I'll finally have a laptop! Finally, no more typing on a laggy touch screen that doesn't have spell or grammar check. (Squeals with delight) I can't wait! **

**Well I'll get typing. There are a couple times changes in here, and in a little bit we'll see Major Sparkles. So Ciao!**

•

I tucked my hands into the pockets of my coat and flopped on the couch. I swung my legs over the top and smiled stupidly. This brief moment of peace and calmness allowed me to relax for the first time in what felt like forever.

I heard Winry's mattress creak and I sighed. 'There goes the peace.'

I sat up some and looked over the top of the couch. Winry was sitting in her bed stretching.

With a yawn she said, "Morning Myra." She looked over at my bed and frowned.

I smiled some as she looked around the room, finally noticing me. "Hi," I said as I fixed my position, pulling my hands out once to lean back on them.

"What are you doing on the couch?" she questioned groggily.

"I woke up some time ago, so I took a walk. I came back a few minutes ago," I told her, not fumbling over my words like I normally would.

'I'm not lying; I just don't want to explain my hands.'

Satisfied with my answer she nodded, yawning as she got up. I lied back down as she opened up her suitcase.

I closed my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. My eyes snapped open as a chill ran down my spine.

'What the...' I thought as my hand reached up to touch the back of my neck. I frowned. 'I thought Truth wasn't going to bother me any more.'

My thoughts were interrupted by Winry grabbing my wrist. My eyes grew wide as the blonde demon stared me down.

"What happened?" she demanded.

I stammered as I spoke. "Well, uh... You see..."

Her grip on me tightened. "What were you doing?"

'I know she's like this because she cares, but she's scarier than Izumi when she attacked me!' I thought.

"I, uh... it's kinda hard to explain."

She let go of my wrist before reaching down to my other arm. Her expression softened when she pulled my other hand out of my pocket. "What did you do?"

I pulled my hand back and frowned. "I went out for a walk to clear my head, but it didn't work very well."

"How does that have anything to do with this?" she questioned as she crossed her arms.

Sighing, I pushed myself up and sat against the arm of the couch. "When I'm frustrated my hands make fists. I've discovered that if you make too tight a fist your nails can break the skin." I looked down at my bandaged hands and narrowed my eyes.

"Okay then," Winry said.

I puffed my bangs away and looked up. "What? Not as interesting as you expected?"

She sighed and blew me off.

I huffed and let my head hang over the arm. I fidgeted as I stared at the wall, the quiet finally getting to me.

'I know that I've wanted to relax, but I can't keep still for much longer!'

I got up and started for the door.

"Where are you going?" Winry asked from the other side of the room, her tone not threatening for a change.

I gestured towards the door. "The cafeteria might be open by now, so I'm going to go get something to eat."

"Okay," she responded.

I sighed and stepped out. The hallways were still empty and it was quieter then the room.

'I'm going insane,' I thought as I shoved my hands in my pockets. 'If something doesn't happen soon I'm going to have to bother Baker for a job.'

As I went down the stairs I frowned. 'I thought that once I became a State Alchemist I'd be assigned jobs to do. It's been a while and the only thing I've done is gotten kidnapped up north and been assigned as Ed's partner. His role in this still isn't clear to me.'

This triggered other thoughts. When I got to the end of the stairs I froze. 'I've been called a sacrifice a few times now, and Truth mentioned that Ed, Al, and Izumi are in as much danger as me. Does that make them sacrifices as well?'

I counted off in my head. 'That makes four of us. Is there anyone else in our position?'

Sighing, I moved forward. "This is crazy," I said softly. "And Truth expects me to fix this mess."

As if my irritation meter could be pushed up any higher, I continued on to find the cafeteria was still closed.

I stood there for a while, but decided to give up on getting food when I was told there had been an accident in the kitchen.

"Maybe I could help," I suggested to the employee.

He looked over at me and raised an eyebrow.

'Good grief. Are alchemists supposed to be taller than 165?' I thought. I reached into my pants pocket and pulled out the watch.

It took him a few moments to realize what had happened. "Oh! Come with me," he said.

I followed him into the kitchen area and my jaw dropped.

"As you can see there's been a bit of a situation," he said.

I was practically speechless. "A bit?"

"Heh," he rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't want our guests to panic."

My eyes stared wide at the giant hole in the wall. "Of course, because panicking isn't something people do normally."

The man bowed politely. "I'm sorry Miss."

I puffed my bangs away and stepped forward to figure things out.

"So... what exactly happened here?" I asked the man.

"Heh," he said again. "Well you see, the delivery truck accidentally hit the wall instead of coming through the entrance. We managed to get the truck out, but unfortunately there's still a gaping hole."

I nodded and looked everything over, making sure every piece of wall was still here. "Give me a hand with this," I said as I began pushing rubble towards the hole.

"Of course Miss," he said. He pushed one of the larger pieces over to where I was. "Do you need something to draw a circle with?"

I smirked. "Nope, no need."

He raised an eyebrow as I clapped my hands together. I hit the ground and morphed the stone bits together. They moved upward and connected with the wall. When I was finished I stepped backwards and smiled at the job I'd done.

"Thank you so much!" the man exclaimed, clasping his hands together. He turned to me and bowed again. "It would have taken weeks to fix this with out you. During that amount of time we wouldn't have been able to keep guests and make money."

"Pretty convenient I'm staying here then," I commented with a smile.

"Oh yes, though I'm not surprised that you're here. This hotel is used by military officials all the time, yet the State would never have bothered to send an alchemist here for something like this."

I frowned at this comment. 'The military needs to work on getting back the trust of the people. If this place has close ties with the State, then even if it's something simple like this it would benefit them to send someone over to help.'

"Anyways," he continued. "How much do I owe you for this?"

Thinking about my position, I shook my head as I said, "I don't need you to do that."

It was his turn to frown. "Are you sure?"

My smile returned. "I get paid enough to live so just take it as common courtesy, okay?"

He bowed again. "Oh thank you!" he practically sobbed.

"I-it's really no problem," I stammered, his constant bowing making me feel awkward.

He straightened out and looked down at me. "You may not wish for money, but I can offer you free room service for as long as you stay here. You can decide if you wish to pay with that."

Realizing that he wasn't going to let this go, I nodded. "Uh, sure," I said, his smile growing even bigger.

I walked around him and decided to go back to upstairs.

'Does the military really not care?' I thought, stuffing my hands back in my pockets. 'That's almost depressing. What ever happened to Be Thou For The People?'

The sound of a door opening and closing pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked up and saw Ed standing there.

"If you were planning on going to breakfast you'll have to wait a bit," I said.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"There was an accident in the kitchen, but it's been taken care of."

"I'm almost afraid to ask what happened," he said in an unsettled tone

I narrowed my eyes at him and folded my arms over each other. "A delivery truck missed the entrance, dumb ass. I just fixed the wall."

I expected some kind of response, but he was focused on something else.

I raised an eyebrow and waved a hand in his face. "Yoo hoo, ya still in there?"

"What the hell happened to your hands?" he asked with a frown.

My forehead furrowed before I mentally face palmed. 'Duh.'

"It's weird to explain," I said, not wanting to have to give that many explanations.

"Well, it doesn't look like I'll be going anywhere," he said.

I narrowed my eyes at him and glared. He glared back at me, his expression plain.

Random thoughts came to mind. I frowned as I said, "You look like Colonel Creepy."

My total subject change seemed to catch him off guard. "Huh?" he said, more than confused at this point.

"You're commanding officer," I said, not quite sure of the real name. I put my hand on my chin as I thought. "I think his name is like a horse?"

"You mean Mustang?" he said, still confused.

"Yea, that guy."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Where the hell did that come from?" he asked.

I smiled as I explained. "Every time I've met the guy he's had the same unchanging expression on his face." I looked at the ceiling as I thought more. "It's kind of like something between an 'I'm constipated' and an 'I'm going to kill you' look."

The corners of his mouth moved upward before he began laughing like it was that was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. My smile grew and I laughed along with him.

"That's the best description for that bastard I've ever heard!" he said between breaths.

We kept laughing like that for a little bit, various people in the hall staring at us like we were insane. We didn't give a damn. With my hands forgotten and nothing bothering us, we were just a couple of kids that were really enjoying life.

•

Our fun was forgotten later on. That afternoon we all sat in Ed and Al's room, nobody speaking.

A knocking on the door broke the uncomfortable silence. Ed got up to answer it.

"Hello?" he asked as he opened it.

The next thing I knew Ed was flying across the room.

My eyes grew wide as I looked back at the door. They nearly popped out of my head when I saw the Major.

"What the hell Major?" Ed exclaimed as he picked himself up.

The giant man came into the room and lifted him up. He messed with Ed's right arm and said, "Your automail seems to need repairs. You'd better go to Resembull immediately."

I frowned and raised an eyebrow at what was going on. "Hah?" I said, unsure of what reaction to take.

I regretted my confusion because it brought the Major's attention to me.

He towered over me and I gulped eyes wide once again. 'Crap.'

"Miss Loken," he started, "As his partner you are to also come along. Colonel Baker has already been notified of what you're doing."

"Okay?" I tried, my mind numb at this point.

He turned to Al and said, "Your body would stand out too much, so you should stay here."

Al seemed a bit taken aback by this. I raised an eyebrow and thought, 'No one could stand out more than this monster of a man.'

Armstrong grabbed Ed's and my collars and dragged us away, literally. The last thing I saw before we turned was Al and Winry standing in the hall, confused as hell.

Major Annoying eventually let us go.

"What about my suitcase?" I asked, picking up my pace to catch up to him.

He didn't bother looking at me. "That's unnecessary," he said bluntly.

I frowned. "Ed's arm is fine and Winry is here if there are any repairs needed. What's the point of going so far out east?"

"More details will be given to you when we get there," he responded simply.

I sighed and continued walking.

We caught the last train and sat in the back of a somewhat empty car. Nothing was said, no one tried to say or do anything, and I eventually gave up on being conscious. Unfortunately the nightmares came back.

This time I was surrounded by a white light, as if I were in the middle of a star. Small black hands came from nowhere and grabbed my arms and legs. I began panicking and tried to kick the hands away.

"Get off!" I screamed, struggling harder. Nothing helped as the hands pulled in various directions, as if they were trying to rip me in half.

The tears streamed down my face. The pain felt real and my heart pounded as I sobbed.

"Get off of me," I choked out. "Let me go."

"_Murderers deserve punishment for their sins_," the voices said. "_You're getting what was coming for you_."

"But..." I started. I grimaced and moaned as the hands pulled harder. More tears fell as I screamed in pain.

"_How long will you last, I wonder_," one voice said. "_Care to find out little alchemist?"_

I shook my head. "No. Don't..." My words were cut off by my own ear piercing shriek. The hands began pulling hard on my right leg. I felt my automail being ripped off, the metal being torn away from where it met with the skin. I screamed again, the agonizing pain too much to handle. With one final tug my automail had been pulled off of my leg. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe.

"Stop," I managed between breaths.

Something shook my shoulders and my eyes snapped open. I found myself looking across the seats at the Major, who had unprofessionally fallen asleep.

"Hey Myra," Ed said.

Tears continued on from the nightmare. I blinked a couple times, before reaching up to wipe them away. When he finally came into view, I cried silent tears.

'You're here so this isn't a trick,' I thought.

"What the hell is going on?" he demanded. His words were strict but his voice was caring.

"The nightmares," I choked out as I looked down at my leg, making sure it wasn't gone. "It's the worst I've ever had, because this time the pain feels real." I sat sideways on the bench and brought my legs up to my chest. I buried my face in the fabric of my pants and continued to sob. "Those hands pulled my leg off, and I felt it. I felt my skin being pried from my automail. It was worse than anything I've ever felt. I'd rather be shot in the head."

'There Truth,' I thought angrily. 'Is this entertainment enough for you!? You don't even have to do anything.'

•••

Ed watched as Myra cried. He had no idea what to do or say in this situation.

She took a deep breath and lifted her head. She turned herself and put her legs back. She stared down at the still bandaged hands that were in her lap.

'There's no way she's going to sleep again for a while after something like that,' he thought.

"Hey Ed," she said softly.

"Yeah?"

"Are they that bad for you? The nightmares, I mean." She didn't look up to face him as she spoke.

Ed blinked, somewhat surprised by her question.

She continued on, "You were the only one that was awake. Either you couldn't sleep or you woke up because of something, right?"

He blinked again and said, "I haven't slept at all actually. And they've never been that bad."

She nodded, still not looking up.

Myra made fists and opened them. With her right hand she tugged at a loose spot on the makeshift bandage. She pulled it up unwrapped her hand. She did the same to her other hand and sighed.

Ed continued watching her. He noticed the broken lines that stretched across her palms and frowned.

"What happened anyway?" he asked. "You never told me."

"Last night the nightmares were almost as bad," she said, voice still soft. She proceeded to tell him about what happened. "I went out to clear my head, but I ended up thinking about what Truth had showed me the first time. I couldn't figure out anything I didn't already know. I gave up and noticed I'd made my fists to hard. My nails had cut into my hands. There were no bandages so I transmuted a towel. The whole thing sounds really stupid now that I think about it."

"Is Truth causing the nightmares?" Ed asked after a couple moments of silence.

Myra shook her head. "He said as long as I entertain him he won't bother me."

"Do you actually believe him?"

She shrugged. "I guess. I've been having nightmares since I was younger. Though because of what now I know about my eyes, I can't tell if Truth has always been messing with me or not."

Ed nodded. Another few moments of silence followed on.

The train came up on a sharp turn that caused Myra to fall against him. As soon as the train straightened out she sat up. She looked over at Ed and he watched as her face flushed.

"Sorry about that," she apologized.

Ed turned the other direction. "It's okay."

She leaned against the window and soon was asleep again.

When the next turn pushed the two together, Ed didn't bother moving her. He let her rest against him, because he knew she would sleep easy with him close by her side.

**A/N: And done! I'm still trying to keep Ed as in character as I can. How's it working? I like pairing them. And who likes my description of Mustang? I thought it was fitting.**

**In other news... IT'S HAPPENED! I'VE GOTTEN OVER 5000 VIEWS! AS A GIFT TO MY VIEWERS I GIVE YOU ALL HUGS! **

**Now that I've reached the goal listed above, I'm asking for at least two new reviews. 5000+ views, -50 reviews. I feel almost insulted. So PLEASE review! Seriously!**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: Hello! So I know that I generally update on Sundays or Mondays, but Full Blown Nightmare kept me busy. (If you didn't know, that's my newest fanfic. I know how I want it to end up, so now I'm going to be juggling this and that.) I've got two chapters up and I'm working on the next.**

**Well, for the moment my focus is on TSSA. Myra's starting us off again this chapter, so see you at the end. (Pairing lovers will appreciate the minor fluff ;) )**

•

I woke up later to find that I was lying down on Ed again, his hand gently gripping my shoulder. I was momentarily reminded of the train ride to Central.

My face flushed and my muscles tightened. I inhaled deeply and let out a quiet sigh.

'Why do my awkward moments always occur on trains?' I thought as the blush tried fading. 'And does Ed even realize his hand is there?'

Because the sun hadn't come out yet, Ed and Armstrong were still asleep. I looked up at Ed and smiled to myself. His other arm was propped up on the arm rest and his face was pressed against his hand. He appeared to be so incredibly peaceful right now, as apposed to his "always on alert" mood. He looked kinda cute.

I mentally slapped myself at this. 'Knock it off Myra. You can like him all you want, but you still don't know for certain that he likes you.'

This brought on a slap from the other side. 'No, you don't like him. You can't like him, because then you'll get distracted. Truth wants you to save the world, so think about something else.'

My mind went back and forth. After giving up on both sides I closed my eyes and tried to relax. I shifted my position some, making sure I didn't move too much. It would get awkward if I woke him up.

'In any case, for a metal leg it sure is comfortable,' I thought with a content sigh.

•-•-•

Truth smiled as he listened in on her thoughts.

"Human feelings are so amusing. They can't be honest with each other, so they act somewhat hostile at times. The other times they get flustered."

He watched her as she fell asleep again. His smiled faded. "Feelings aside, it is important that she doesn't lose sight of the importance of her situation. I hope that this toy makes the right choices. With her, their future is not yet destined for such a brutal end."

•

The next time I woke up it was because Ed was shaking my shoulder.

"We're here now," he said.

I sat up and blinked the world into focus. Armstrong was already walking down the aisle to get off the train.

Ed stood up and quickly followed behind him. I frowned, my mind still fuzzy from sleep.

I blinked again and the details of what had happened finally hit me. I got up and began running after them. Unfortunately today's enemy was a suitcase in the middle of the aisle. I tripped and fell face first.

I growled as I pushed myself up and tried to catch up.

"Wait for me!" I called as I jumped off of the train.

My luck only got worse when I crashed into a little girl and what looked like a baby panda.

I stood up and offered her my hand. She took it and I helped her up.

"I'm so sorry about that," I said with a bow. She smiled nervously.

"It's okay, you're in a rush after all," she said.

I nodded a goodbye and began running again. "You guys! I said wait!" I screamed.

I slowed down my pace when they stopped in front of a heavy set man standing with a suitcase. Ed looked pissed off.

"Who thought it would be a good idea to leave one of the kids behind?" the man said.

I raised an eyebrow. "Have we ever met?"

"That's Lieutenant Breda; he works under Mustang," Ed said.

I nodded.

"Nice to meet ya kid," he said as he bent down to pick up the suitcase. He looked down at his wrist watch. "We'd better get going."

•

A few hours later my skin felt as if it was burning off. Sweat dripped down my skin as the sun hit the white coat I was wearing. My black pants burned as my automail heated up. The skin touching it hurt almost as badly as in my nightmare.

"Why didn't you tell us that we were going to be crossing the dessert?" I complained as I slumped against the neck of the horse I was riding.

"Alphonse and Winry needed some kind of explanation that wouldn't cause them to panic," the Major said.

I rolled my eyes. 'It's always about not wanting people to panic.'

"Why are we crossing any way?" I asked.

"You'll find out in a bit kid," Breda said.

"A bit" turned out to be a couple hours later.

I was surprised to see that there were ruins in the middle of nowhere. As we got closer, my eyes lit up at the sight of a water fountain. Unfortunately for me Ed had the same idea. His horse began running towards it.

"Hey! No fair!" I shouted at him. My leg burned when I tried to move it. As a result, I was stuck on my horse until the rest of us got over there.

I swung my leg over and stepped down. I tried to walk normally, but my automail made me hop on one leg over the fountain.

Grimacing, I forced my boots off and rolled my pant legs up high above my knees. I sat on the edge with my legs in the water. I sighed happily as the water steamed slightly, allowing my burned skin to cool.

"My automail nearly burned my skin off," I said.

"Same here," Ed said his whole body in the fountain. I smiled at this.

After a few minutes of everyone getting used to what was going on, Ed got out of the fountain. My face flushed slightly when he pulled his shirt off to wring out the water. No one could tell, though, because the sun had already brought on some unwanted color.

I mentally slapped myself once again for this. 'He's just a guy! You've kicked his ass and you could do it again.'

I stepped back into my shoes and pulled my pant legs down, pushing all irrelevant thoughts aside.

"Two kids with automail in a dessert... Sounds like a recipe for disaster," Breda said.

I glared at him. "You guys are the ones that dragged us out here."

He pointed to Major. "I'm pretty sure it was him that did most of the dragging."

I rolled my eyes and yanked off the white coat. I turned back to the fountain and bent over so that my head was submerged. I'd never have told anyone this, but part of it was to erase the image of the shirtless Ed from my mind.

I stayed there for almost a minute before I had to come up for air.

I gasped and began coughing. After a moment of that I breathed deeply and rubbed out my eyes.

I pulled on my pony tail and squeezed the water out of it. Even after I did so water still dripped down my back.

"Myra!" Breda called. "Come on!"

I shot him a glare, but he and the others were already on the move. Frustrated, I grabbed the coat and ran up to them.

"So where are we going now?" I asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"You are really impatient, aren't you kid?" Breda commented.

I glared at him. "Seeing as you guys brought me here against my will, I think I have a right to know."

The two men stopped and looked up. "You asked why we brought you guys out here; well there's your answer."

Ed and I looked up. I frowned as I tried to figure out what was going on.

A giant smile spread across Ed's face, only causing my confusion to grow.

"That damn Colonel," he said.

I looked at the same spot as him and my jaw dropped.

"I thought you were dead!" I shouted.

Maria Ross jumped down from a broken statue. "Good to see you too, Myra."

I stared, not believing what was going on. "Is this another dream?" I said to no one in particular.

She smiled and walked up to me. I continued staring.

"Seriously," I said looking at the guys. "Did I pass out on my horse?"

The grown ups laughed while Ed looked almost depressed, as if he knew where I was coming from.

I blew my damp bangs out of my face and huffed at the adults. 'Considering everything I've been through, it should be somewhat understandable that this could be a dream.'

After we listened to Ross's story, I came to the conclusion that she was very much alive, and that I really was awake.

"Have you guys figured out who really killed him?" I asked when she was done.

This brought on a very unsettling silence.

"No, not yet," Breda said.

I nodded. After a moment he and Major stood up again.

"Let's go," Breda said, taking charge once again. "We're losing daylight and we still have a ways to go."

We followed them through the ruins. I was in awe of everything around us.

'Ling said he said he wanted to see the Xerces ruins. He had to have been talking about this place. But what could have helped him to immortality...'

My thoughts trailed off as my attention was attracted to a particular spot.

I stopped walking and tugged on Ed's sleeve to get his attention.

"Hm?" he said as he looked down. I pointed at the spot and looked at it, trying to make sense of the designs in this transmutation circle.

"Ed! Myra!" Ross called.

"What are guys gawking at!? Hurry up already!" Breda called.

I came to the conclusion that I _really _didn't like this guy.

I puffed my bangs away and stuffed my hands into my coat pockets. 'Shut up you tubby jack ass,' I thought angrily. 'It can't be that important. The sun doesn't set for at least another five hours, and a majority of that will on horseback. Let me walk! My ass still hurts!'

I lagged behind them a couple meters so I could get a better look at everything. I frowned when the only interesting thing around turned out to be that first circle. Questions as to why it was there filled my head.

When we got to the edge of the ruins, I was surprised to see one of Ling's body guards standing there with a couple other people.

The grown ups did some talking while I stepped to the side. I sat on what looked like a broken column. I nibbled on my thumb nail while I thought about the circle. It was mostly destroyed, but the dragon in the middle looked familiar. My eyes lit up as I reached into my pants pocket. I pulled out the watch and smiled at my discovery.

'I've been seeing dragons everywhere lately. I can't remember what else I had been thinking of the other day though.' Frustrated, I scratched at my head. 'Arg! What's the connection between it all!? It's like I have this map of clues staring me in the face, yet I'm too stupid to figure it out!'

"This is ridiculous," I said to myself. I stood up and glanced over at everyone else. I wasn't particularly interested in what they were doing, seeing as I didn't like being in crowds.

Boredom took over and I began pacing.

'Tubby wanted us to hurry but they're all just chatting and not caring. What happened to the urgency of the situation?'

I listened as footsteps were coming down from the other end. I raised an eyebrow and turned around to see a guy walking down on a horse.

I frowned. 'Isn't that...'

"I've brought the horse for Miss Ross, sir," the guy said as he hopped down.

Breda nodded before turning back to Ross. "Well this is goodbye," he said.

"Not forever," she said with a sad smile.

Armstrong pulled her into one of his bear hugs and I couldn't resist laughing. I stepped forward to say farewell.

I smiled up at her and held my hand out. "Been nice knowing ya," I said.

She took my hand and shook it. "You'll see me again, but until then try to stay out of trouble," she said in a joking tone.

I smirked. "I'm partnered up with this guy," I said, nodding towards Ed. "Trouble's become part of my daily life."

She laughed at this before turning to Ed. "Good luck with everything." Still smiling, she bent down to his ear and said something to soft for me to hear. Ed's face suddenly turned a fierce shade of red. Ross laughed.

"Ya know I still need to slap you for that time in the hospital," he said.

She laughed again. "You can get me next time."

Ed glared at her as she walked away and mounted the horse. She waved a goodbye to us one last time before she and the others rode off.

We turned around and began walking back. A thought occurred to me while we walked.

"Where did you guys get the extra horse?" I asked.

"Hm?" Breda said. "Oh. It was your horse. We figured you and Fullmetal could ride one, seeing as you're both so small."

At the same we Ed and I screamed, "I'm not small!"

Both Breda and Major got a kick out of this and laughed.

I huffed and blew my bangs away. 'Great plan you guys. It's burning hot out and you're going to make us sit close together.'

We made our way back to the original horses. They were standing around the fountain, drinking as much water as they could.

Ed pulled on our horse and mounted. I walked over and tried to figure out how I would get up.

He looked down at me before holding out his hand. I hesitantly took it and pulled myself up.

I situated myself as the horse started moving. At that moment I didn't want things to get anymore awkward.

As if Truth was messing with my surroundings, the horse tried to run. My eyes grew wide as I began falling off. When I grabbed onto Ed, the horse started going at a normal speed.

'Really?' I thought as Ed looked over at me. 'Damn horse.'

Not wanting a repeat of the situation, I continued on in that position; my arms wrapped around Ed's torso.

"Sorry," I said.

Ed nodded. "It's okay."

I stayed like that while my face flushed again.

•••

The sun was setting and night was approaching. With the sun low the temperature of the dessert had changed dramatically.

Ed frowned when something hard fell against his upper back. He looked over his shoulder to see the top of Myra's head. She'd passed out while holding onto him.

He smiled slightly and sighed before turning back around.

'I've never known some one with so much energy to be able to fall asleep so easily,' he thought.

They were approaching the border and soon they'd be back in Resembull. Ed had already decided that he would stay for a day or two to say hi to Pinako.

The arms that were wrapped around him got somewhat tighter before loosening. Ed looked down at her, hoping she wasn't having another nightmare.

'I don't like this,' he thought, somewhat on the edge. 'Ever since the train ride to Central I've been on alert trying to make sure she's okay. Truth hasn't been making things easy for any of us, Myra especially.'

•

This dream was different. There were no shadows, no hands ripping me apart; just voices.

"_You and the boy have grown pretty close. I wonder how you would react if something happened to him,"_ one voice said in a threatening tone.

I glared at nothing. "Leave Ed alone," I said my voice icy cold.

_"Come now. Let us have a little fun_," a second voice begged.

"No way in hell," I said, my fists clenched. "The only way you're getting to him is over my dead body. It wouldn't do you much good to torture him then."

_"You have a point, but we could still torture him."_

Yet another voice joined_. "You don't realize that all we want is entertainment. Torturing you humans _while you sleep is just another form of that."

I was slightly taken aback with this. I regained my composure and said, "What kind of entertainment is that? Hearing high pitched screams, moans, and howls entertains you? The sight of humans in pain makes you feel good?"

"Yes," it said bluntly. "That's correct."

My stomach dropped and I fell to my knees. My breathing got heavy and I didn't understand anything.

"Why?" was all I was able to ask before I was pulled back into my world.

I blinked sleep out of my eyes. I looked to my side and saw a beautiful sunset. I smiled tiredly I sighed, pleased with this new view.

As my nerves woke up I felt something comfortingly warm pressed against me. I kept on smiling like the idiot I am.

'The creepy voices are gone and I'm where ever. I don't care where right now. It's just nice being right here.'

Ed had to ruin it with another awkward moment.

"Hey Myra," he said. "Can you let go of me now?"

My eyes opened wide. 'Oh god.'

**A/N: Ah ha ha! There we go; one nice, long chapter and a baby cliffy. No worries, the next chapter should arrive on its normal day next time. Sorry about being kinda late by the way. I've been doing... stuff. **

**Anyways I'd like to thank you all for reading! I've managed to get my 50+ reviews and last I looked I'm about 80 views away from 6000. That's freaking AWESOME! Again thank you all so much for the views, the nice reviews, the follows and favorites. The list could go on, but the only things I have to say are thank you! and please review! *:-{)**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: Hello my awesome readers! Happy December! Holidays are in the air and I'm that one person standing off to the side, not making such a big deal. Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays. I get some nice stuff, I make gifts for friends, and I get a week off of school. I just hate that it's cold as a frozen over hell in the morning. Good thing this year I'm making "knitted" hats.**

**(Sigh) Sorry for rambling. In other news now that TSSA's side story is finished I feel like some pressure is gone. Now I just have this and FBN (everything else has been stopped. sorry, but I can't worry about the others right now). Onward we go!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the FMA manga or the FMA: B anime. If I did then I'd make Winry less wrench happy and Hughes wouldn't have been killed by the genderless palm tree. All I own is Myra and the other extras.**

•

We had gotten to the edge of Resembull and I'd just woken up. My fuzzy brain didn't register anything outside of a 50 centimeter radius. The rest of the world came flooding in, the moment Ed said this:

"Can you let go of me now?"

The walls my mind put up shattered into a thousand pieces and I felt my face get warm as it flushed a bright shade of red.

'Oh god,' I thought. 'This is worse than on the train!'

I quickly let go of him and sat up. "Uh, sorry about that. I fell asleep again."

He nodded as if he already knew. "It's okay."

I nodded in return. I looked down and frowned.

'I got on here easily enough, but how can I get down without something to steady myself on? I don't want Ed to make this anymore awkward by helping...'

It was too late. Ed had already turned to give me his hand. I gave up trying to avoid physical contact and grabbed it. I used my other hand to push myself off of the horse. I hopped off and continued to blush.

"Uh, thanks," I said.

•••

The two of them turned down a road and began walking.

"So are we going back to Central now?" Myra asked.

Ed glanced down at her. "No, not yet," he said. "I wanted to stop by the Rockbell house while we were here."

Myra nodded. "So a family visit then," she said, not so much a question as statement.

Ed hesitated as he answered. "Yeah, that's what you could call it."

Neither of them spoke as they continued on. As they passed by the cemetery, a dark figure caught Ed's attention. He looked closely at the figure and froze.

Myra looked up at him, confused.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Old memories came to the surface and he narrowed his eyes in disgust. 'Who does he think he is!?' Ed thought angrily.

•

I frowned at Ed. There was an angry flame in his gold eyes and his whole body had gone stiff.

'What's up with him? I know he can get on edge about things but this is freaking me out.'

I waved a hand in front of his face. "Edward, what's wrong?" I repeated, using his full name like I used to.

He didn't look back at me as his hands made fists. "What the hell is he doing back here?" Ed growled.

The person in the cemetery seemed to notice us and turned around. I looked closely and my eyes grew wide.

It was a man. He had long blond hair and his eyes glinted gold from behind a pair of glasses. He looked a lot like Ed. I mentally face palmed at this.

'Duh! It explains why there was only one grave and why they look alike. It's gotta be Ed's father,' I concluded. I furrowed my eyebrows as I thought about Ed's reaction. 'They must've had a falling out of some sort.'

The man came towards us and Ed only got tenser.

"It's good to see you," the man said. "You appear to have grown taller."

Ed scowled and turned his head away.

"I spoke with Pinako," he went on. "You tried human transmutation."

My eyes grew wide as I looked from Ed to the man. 'How can you be so blunt about a topic like that!?' I thought.

Ed looked up at him with a look of hurt and disgust before looking away again. "What are you doing here? There's nothing left for you."

The man looked at a certain spot. "I noticed. Tell me Edward, what possessed you to burn down my home?"

I was shocked and unsure of what reaction to take. 'I didn't know...'

Ed broke through my thoughts. "We promised ourselves that we'd never turn back. We did it as a symbol of our resolve..."

"No you didn't." The man cut in bluntly. The hurt look came back on Ed's face. "You did it to hide the evidence. You thought that by erasing what you did you would also erase the memory. It's no different from a small child hiding the sheets after wetting the bed."

Ed was speechless and I was pissed off. 'I don't like this guy either!'

The man would have said something else, but I cut him off. "Well what do you know!?" I exploded, tired of standing by quietly while Ed got chewed out.

Ed and the man looked down at me, their turn to be speechless as I went on. "You weren't around so what gives you any right to talk!? Have you ever seen something so horrible!?"

"Myra," Ed said, the hurt still on his face with an added emotion I couldn't read.

I blew him off and kept going, my irritation fueling my words. "You have no right to talk to your son like that, no matter where you stand as his parent! We all make mistakes we can't take back, no matter how much we want to, but at least he's trying to right his wrong!"

I turned on my heel and walked off, not giving either of them a chance to react or respond to what I said.

My hands made fists as I closed my eyes. 'I can't do anything to fix my problems; it's over and done. The least I can do right now is help these guys.'

I kept going down the road, my only memory of this place failing to guide me to the automail shop Ed and Al now called home.

'Dammit!' I wanted to scream. I was lost, it was almost dark, and I was even more pissed off than before.

I sat down at the edge of the road, deciding that I shouldn't bother trying to find my way back.

I pulled my legs to my chest and rested my chin on my knees, watching as the last rays of sunlight disappeared from sight.

Sighing I wrapped my arms around myself. 'I give up. Unless someone comes by in the middle of fricking nowhere, I'll find my own way back later.'

•••

'Where the hell did she go?' Ed thought as he walked down the road she'd turned down. 'If she hadn't yelled and stormed off we'd be at the house by now.'

The sun had set and he was having difficulty seeing. At night even someone from the area could get lost. To top it off the storm clouds that were coming in blocked out the small amount of light that was coming from the moon.

'I'd better run into her soon or else I'll never find her.'

As if on cue Ed's foot hit something hard when he took his next step.

"Hey! Watch where you're going next time, asshole!" Myra's bitter voice said. She was clearly pissed off.

Ed smirked at her reaction. "If you didn't run off then maybe we wouldn't be lost."

•

My eyes grew wide when I heard Ed's familiar voice.

A mix of emotions overwhelmed me I sprang up from where I sat. Guessing where he was from when he kicked me, I got into my fighting stance and swung my right leg into his side, knocking him to the ground.

I heard a loud thump as he hit the ground.

"What the hell was that for!?" he screamed, obviously confused.

I narrowed my eyes in his direction. "For not finding me any sooner!"

"Well I'm sorry but unless you hadn't noticed it's almost pitch black out here!" he snapped back. "Maybe I should just leave you here so you can find your own way back."

My eyes grew wide at the threat. "You wouldn't dare."

I heard footsteps and my heart jumped. "Try me," he said.

"Ed!" I shouted. I started following the sound of his footsteps. The thick cloud that was covering the moon moved some, and I was able to spot the dark figure that was Ed. The cloud came back, but I had already caught up to him.

"Don't do that," I warned.

•••

An evil smile creeped up on Ed's face as he walked faster down the road.

"Ed, stop it," she warned, picking up her own pace.

"If I don't?" he teased.

He couldn't see her but he knew that she was pissed.

"Just stop," she said.

The smile on his face stayed as he started running. Her own footsteps got faster as she tried to keep up with him. Ed had the unfair advantage of knowing the area, so he could easily get back to the house if he wanted.

He began running down the road with Myra trailing behind him.

"You jerk!" she screamed, the faintness of her voice signaling that she was a good distance behind him. "Fine! Go ahead and run! See if I bother to give a shit!"

Ed stopped running and looked behind him. He didn't hear any other footsteps and frowned, wondering if she'd really stopped.

'Where'd she go?' he thought. The clouds moved again and he saw that the road was empty.

"Myra!?" he called out.

Clouds came back and made everything dark again.

"Myra!" he called out. "Where are you?"

The next thing he knew he'd been knocked to the ground again. He fell face first and groaned when a lot of weight was put onto one spot on his back. He was reminded of the fight with Myra at her exam.

"I told you to stop, did I not?"

•

I kneeled down and dug my automail knee into Ed's back. I heard him groan in pain and a sick smile spread across my face.

"Why?" he asked.

"This is what you get for pissing me off," I growled, putting more weight on his back.

"Yeah I get it!" he cried out, groaning as I tortured him. "Can you get off of me now!?"

I stayed there for a few moments, debating if I should let him up. Eventually I came to a decision.

I dug my knee into him again and he groaned once again. "I'll get off if you stop messing with my head," I offered.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever. Just get off of me before you break my spine!" he cried out, trying to push himself up.

I narrowed my eyes at the direction of his voice. I dug my knee into him a little more to hear him cry out in pain.

"Ow! Come on! I swear I'll stop! Just get off!" His voice told me he was irritated and in pain.

After one more shove I moved my knee off of him. "There," I said, still annoyed.

I heard gravel on the road crunch as he sat up. "You just had to use your automail leg," he complained.

"You just had to piss me off," I copped back. "I've been sitting there since sunset because your old man got on my nerves, and then you think it's funny to leave a girl alone in the dark. I never realized how anti-social you must be."

"Like you think it's fun to be around other people," he shot back.

I narrowed my eyes again. "I don't but I'm better than you when it comes to crap like that."

He laughed at that. "Yeah sure. A girl that grew up beating up every other kid she knew is talking to me about social skills. That doesn't sound right."

I continued glaring in his direction. "I get pissed off easily," I said defensively.

"Don't I know it," he said with a slight laugh. I frowned at this.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I questioned.

He blew me off. I heard the gravel crunch as he stood up. The clouds parted again and I saw Ed standing in front of me, arm stretched out and offering a hand. Moonlight glinted off of his gold eyes and there was sliver of a smile on his face.

"Come on. Let's go," he said.

My face got hot as I blushed and I momentarily forgot why I was pissed off. I reached out and grabbed hold of his right hand. It was hard and cold through the glove he was wearing.

He helped me up and we began walking. He kept his promise by not running off again.

It took some time but we managed to get the house.

"Took you two long enough," Pinako said when they got inside.

"Myra got lost and it took me a while to find her," Ed said.

I glared at him before turning away in a huff. "Wasn't my fault," I grumbled. "It was that old guy that pissed me off."

"Well you're here now and you're safe. There are some leftovers in the kitchen the two of you can eat if you want. We'll catch up tomorrow when we have more time."

I looked back down at her and nodded. "Thanks," I said.

She ignored my thanks and frowned.

"Hm," she said as she looked from me to Ed. "It seems that either you've grown some or Ed's just shrinking."

This hit Ed's trigger and he and the old lady began yelling at each other.

I sighed. 'I know they're not really related, but they sure do argue like a family.'

When they were done Pinako kept talking. "The guest room upstairs has been set up for the two of you." She turned to me and said, "It's a different room from when you were last here, so you shouldn't be bothered by the disinfectant smell."

I nodded. "Thanks," I repeated.

"It's no trouble," she said. "Some people are more sensitive to chemicals like that than others."

'Not exactly the reason, but yea that works,' I thought as I nodded.

•••

Ed glanced down at Myra as he remembered what happened the last time she was here. She had gone into a coughing fit because of the smell.

'Al told me that the smell brings back bad memories. If that's so, will the nightmares be worse?'

•

That night I borrowed some of Winry's old clothes to sleep in. I couldn't sleep though. This time it wasn't because of a smell, and I still didn't think that Ed would do anything creepy. No, I was afraid of what would haunt me tonight.

I lied on my side and stared at the wall. 'This is so stupid. I'm tired, yet I'm afraid of something that can't hurt me.'

The last nightmare came to mind and my hands gripped the sheets. 'Can't hurt me physically at least.'

I heard the door creak open and footsteps as some one came in. I froze, not even breathing at this point.

A few moments later the door closed again. The footsteps continued on down the hall and I held my breath until they had faded out.

I began breathing and I let out a deep breath. The bed across from me creaked and I frowned. I looked over my shoulder and saw a dark figure head towards the door.

"Pst!" I whispered. "What are you doing?"

My eyes had adjusted and I saw Ed reaching for the doorknob.

Frowning, I moved the blanket and got up.

"Ed, where are you going?" I asked as I quietly stepped towards him.

He didn't respond. He just opened the door and went down the hall.

I continued to frown and followed him.

"Ed," I whispered.

He shushed me in response and went down the stairs.

'What is he doing?'

I went down with him and stopped when I heard two voices, one Pinako's and the other sounded like Ed's father.

Ed stepped over to the wall beside the kitchen entrance and stood there. I tiptoed over to him. I went dead silent when I heard the conversation.

"Pinako, are you sure that what my sons created was actually Trisha?" Ed's father said.

My eyes grew wide. 'Trisha is the name I saw on the grave marker. Is he talking about her?'

I heard Pinako make a gasping sound out of confusion before she spoke. "I don't know. It didn't look human to me, so I wouldn't think of it..."

"That's not what I mean," the old man said, cutting her off. She made the same confused sound.

He went on. "Did you notice the eye color, or the hair color?"

"What are going on about?" she asked him angrily. "Are you telling me that that wasn't even Trisha? That even after all they sacrificed, that wasn't even their mother!?"

"I'm only asking," he said.

Pinako kept going. "What about the girl? You're telling me that she lost everything for nothing as well!?"

My chest got tight and my heart felt as if it had stopped beating. 'What!?'

"I don't know about the girl,' he said. "Though it's possible as well."

I took the chance to walk away and head back to my bed. Ed stayed were he was, completely shocked.

I hid under the covers and closed my eyes. For once I actually wanted the nightmares to come.

**A/N: AND done. Well there you have it, some fluff at the beginning, a bit of Myra kicking Ed's ass in the middle, followed by some shocking discoveries. Yeah I couldn't resist fudging with the time line up, and had Myra get lost in the dark. I like how it turned out. I'm also still trying to keep Ed's personality intact. Did I do okay?**

**Well be ready for chapter 30 next week! I'm working on it now, so I should have it for you soon. Be prepared for more! I'll stop this A/N here because I really need sleep. Sayonara my fluffies *:-{)**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: Hello! This is a serious turning point because I am finally at chapter ****30****! It's also a turning point for Myra and Ed, in more ways than one. I'm impressed with how many views I have and the story is only in the 2 season of Brotherhood... I can't tell if that's a good thing or not. Can you clarify later when you review? **

**So I've been working on this chapter almost nonstop since I last updated (almost because of class and sleep) and I couldn't resist putting it up now. Hope you're happy about this week's extra chapter, my fluffies! Now onward! Through chapter 30 we shall go!**

•

I hadn't gotten much sleep that night, and not because of any nightmares. I had lied awake for a good portion of the evening while my brain tried to figure things out. What little sleep I got was restless and uneasy. There was one point in which Ed's bed squeaked loudly. I glanced in that direction and saw Ed with his arm over his eyes. If I listened carefully I could hear his heavy breathing.

'I guess it's his turn for the night,' I thought, a sad expression on my face. I turned back and closed my eyes. A little while later I fell back into my restless sleep.

The bed beside me creaked again and I woke up, eyes wide and heart pounding. I listened to footsteps as they went across the floor. I looked over and sighed in relief when I saw Ed. He had a change of clothes with him and was obviously going to get dressed.

I rotated onto my back and sat up. Blood rushed up to my head as I did so, clouding my vision.

'Argh!' I thought as I groaned, holding my forehead in my hands. 'Head rush!'

After a few moments I got up and stretched, my untied hair getting in my face as I did so.

I brushed it away and frowned. 'Damn hair,' I thought as I stepped over to the exit.

I looked out the doorway and saw that the hall was empty. Ed was gone and I was alone.

I closed the door and grabbed the clothes I'd worn here. As I pulled Winry's shirt up over my head, I thought about the past week.

'It seems lately that everywhere we go someone or something causes us to crash in one way or another. First Hughes and now this. I don't even know what to do about this.'

When I was done changing clothes I heard a knock on the door. I went over and opened it. Standing there was a now fully clothed Ed.

"Breakfast is ready for us," he said.

I nodded before going back for my hair tie. I pulled up my hair as I walked down the hallway, the tie held in my teeth.

We got downstairs and Pinako was sitting there at the table.

"Good morning" she said to both of us. She then turned her attention towards Ed. "Your father left about an hour ago."

Ed didn't seem to care as he sat down at the table. I sat across from him and sighed, tired from the sleepless night.

"You know if you kids didn't go sticking your noses into everything, then maybe you'd be more awake," Pinako scolded as she brought us food.

I blinked and looked down at the old woman. "So you knew we were there?"

She smirked. "When you get to be my age you notice things. Den also pointed out that you were there when he stopped growling."

I looked over at the black and white dog. He wagged his tail and nodded at me.

"Thanks a lot mutt," I muttered as I turned to the glass of milk in front of me. I downed it all in a few gulps and felt like laughing when I saw Ed's disgusted reaction. I didn't though. The time wasn't appropriate.

When we were done with our food, Ed had something to ask Pinako.

"Do you remember what you did with the remains of what Al and I made that night?" he asked, voice calm yet demanding.

I froze before looking up at him. There was a slightly pained expression on his face.

'It hurts,' I thought, looking at him with a shocked and sad expression. 'The memory is hurting you, and you can't get over this. I get that, but what are you planning?'

Pinako continued smoking her pipe as she answered. "I buried it behind your old house. But why do you want to know?"

The pain was only more visible as he went on. "I want to know if it really is mom that we made, or if it was something else."

She and I were speechless. I was the first to speak. "You mean you want to dig it up." It wasn't really a question, but it was answered like one.

"Yeah," he said softly. "I just have to know the truth behind what we did."

My heart jumped. It didn't seem right for someone like him to break. Even though he was only fractured at this point, it didn't fit his tough-as-steel personality.

"Can you show me later?" he asked Pinako.

She hesitated as she answered. "Are you sure?"

Ed nodded once. "Yes."

I had gotten tired of playing the part of the wallflower. I spoke up and neither of them was sure of how to react.

"I want to help you," I said, completely straight forward.

"No..." Ed started before I cut him off.

"Don't argue," I warned, looking him in the eyes. A surprised expression cane up on his face as I went on. "You're always there for me when things get jacked up, so don't push me away when I try to do the same for you. Nothing you say is going to make me change my mind, so forget it."

He didn't say anything when he saw the fierce expression I put on.

"Fine," he said, picking up the glass of water he'd been given. He finished it as fast I'd done with my milk.

I nodded and leaned back in my chair. Nothing more was said for this part of the day as we waited for the moment we would go into hell.

•

The storm clouds had gotten a hundred times worse by now and my leg was sore from the change in air pressure. The three of us were walking up a large hill and to the wreckage that had once been Ed and Al's house. No one said a thing until we'd gotten there.

"You're really going to do this?" Pinako asked, breaking the silence.

Ed was doubled over in pain, gripping his shirt. I knew why he was like that, but the great automail mechanic Pinako didn't seem to.

"Let's go back," she said, trying to talk him out of it.

"No. My stumps are just aching from the weather," he explained, glancing at me as he did so. I had been caught rubbing the skin around my automail. I stood up and gripped the handle of my shovel.

He straightened out and looked up at the sky. "It's going to rain soon. Let's get this over with."

He stabbed into the ground with his shovel and I did the same with mine.

Only a few minutes into our digging it began raining. My leg began aching even more. It was different from the drizzle that came down last time. It was pouring hard and I could hear thunder in the distance.

'Damn,' I thought. 'I haven't had to be out in conditions like this since I got my automail. I never imagined what could feel worse.'

I became fixated on digging and didn't notice that Ed had moved to the side until I heard him heaving.

I looked over and my eyes grew wide. "Ed!" I cried out. I dropped my shovel and made my way over to him.

I put my hands on his back as he threw up. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on something else as he coughed.

"Don't push yourself so hard," Pinako said from behind me.

I held him somewhat as he kept coughing. I opened my eyes and watched as he struggled to breathe. My heart seemed to skip a beat and I petted his back as a means to comfort him.

"Let's just go back," she suggested.

Ed's hand reached up and grabbed the handle of his shovel. "No," he said. "I won't be able to move on until I've found out."

He stood up and I moved my hands away.

"I won't run away from this like before," he said before starting up again.

I watched for a moment as he dug his shovel into the ground again. I followed his lead as the rain came down harder.

I winced when I tried to adjust my position. 'My leg is killing me, but I have to do this! I want to do this much for him at least,' I thought as I dug my shovel into the now soaking wet ground. I heard the mechanisms in my metal knee start to lock up and I groaned. After choosing to ignore it I gripped the shovel tighter, partially for the support I needed.

'Ed's been by my side since a few days after I met him. He helped me when my last leg was destroyed, he's been there since Truth started messing with me, and he was willing to carry me out of a shower. He's got a good heart, he's strong, and I owe him.'

I continued shoveling until the started coughing again.

I looked over at Ed and felt my heart skip a beat. He was leaning against a dead tree, his body trying to heave up what wasn't there. I wanted so badly to be by his side, but my stiff leg wouldn't let me. I closed my eyes and cringed as a bolt of lightning shot across the sky, a load boom sounding. My automail seemed to get tighter with every rain drop that hit the ground after that.

'Keep going,' I told myself as I fought through it. 'Just keep going.'

When Ed came back he began digging faster, as if he'd finally snapped. His expression told me he was at his breaking point. I moved out of the way so he could go on his own.

He kept going, frantically digging through the dirt. We all froze when his shovel met with something hard, a clang sounding.

Ed tossed the shovel aside and began using his hands. All the while my legs were ready to give out. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, trying to get air into my lungs. I could barely focus on anything around me.

'Working hard in conditions like this has to be hazardous to my health, but it's worth it,' I thought.

Ed ran past me with something in his hands. I didn't notice what exactly. My legs were no longer holding me up and I was relying on the shovel to keep me steady.

"Granny," Ed said to Pinako. "Mom's hair was a light chestnut color. This is black."

I looked over, my strength coming back ever so slightly. I saw the look of terror on Ed's face as he held up the piece of hair he'd pulled.

The three of us began pulling up bits of skeleton. Bad memories came flowing into my mind as Pinako laid them out and measured them.

'If this isn't Ed's mom, then what did Brother and I make?'

"This femur is much too long, and I'm pretty sure that this pelvis is male," she said as she inspected the various bones. She turned to Ed. "I'm sorry, but this isn't your mother."

There was a mix of emotions going through Ed and me. I stared at the ground, unsure of what reaction to take.

Ed's reaction surprised me. He fell to ground. All was quiet until laughter filled the air around us.

I looked up at him. "Ed?"

He ignored me and spoke. "So it really was impossible all along. The undeniable truth."

My heart seemed to stop and my legs went weak. My knees gave and I fell to the ground, hands coming out to catch me. "Impossible..." I repeated. "It was impossible..."

Dark shadows seemed to come out from all around me, the lack off sleep finally affecting my mind.

Tears began streaming down my face as I stared down. As the rain fell down around me I closed my eyes, no longer in control. "You mean my brother died for nothing? For something completely unrelated? No..." I clenched my hands in tight fists and punched the soft dirt. "Th-this can't be right. After all that..." My breathing grew shallow and I felt like destroying something.

I began sobbing and sat back, holding myself. The nightmares voices broke through my thoughts.

_'Do you see it now? You killed him_.'

"I killed him," I repeated softly. I kept repeating that until I felt something touch my face. One cheek was cold and the other was warm. I stopped mumbling and opened my eyes. I looked up and saw Ed, holding my face in his hands.

"Stop saying that," he commanded, a calm fire shining in his golden eyes. "You didn't kill anyone."

My sobs had quieted down but the emotions hadn't gone away. "I-I did," I choked out. "I let m-my brother die."

He clenched his teeth in frustration before exploding. "Stop saying that!" he shouted. His hands stayed on my cheeks and my eyes grew wide as he kept yelling.

"If your brother was really that determined you wouldn't have been able to stop him if you tried! He got himself killed and you're the one that he hurt, not the other way around. Get that through your thick skull already and stop taking the blame!"

I was shocked when he said all of this. I continued to look in his eyes. The fire was stronger and he looked frustrated.

Memories of my last months with my brother came flooding to the front of my mind and I held my head in my hands. Ed kept his where they were, his own attempt to comfort me.

The fragments I saw pieced themselves together. The way he wouldn't leave his study, the constant talk about how "This is going to work for sure" showed me now that he'd snapped the moment our sister died. Though even with my own memories the voices continued to say that I was to blame.

_'Stop kidding yourself. You killed him_.'

"I didn't do it," I whispered in argument, removing my hands from my forehead. "He died because of his own pointless goal. I didn't kill him."

I dared to open my eyes and looked back at Ed. I breathed out slowly and shed one last tear. He wiped it away with his flesh thumb before moving his hands away.

Ed stood up and held his hand out to me. I took it and he helped me get on my feet. I gripped the handle of my shovel and used it to keep myself steady.

"So are we done here?" Pinako said.

Ed and I looked over at her.

"Yeah," he said as he glanced down at the remains, mixed emotions on his face.

"What is it?" I asked him.

He didn't look up as he spoke. "Ever since the day I made this thing it's been a symbol of my despair. But not anymore. Now it's an emblem of hope."

His lack of explanation frustrated me. "You're being vague," I said with a frown. "What do you mean by hope?"

He looked over at me, his expression determined. "I know now that Al can be turned back to normal."

I met his gaze with wide eyes before frowning again. "Wait a minute," I said. "You mean you didn't think he could before all of this?"

Ed shook his head. "No I always thought I could, but now I'm almost certain of it."

I nodded in response. I still wasn't impressed with his answer, but I decided to leave it alone.

Pinako spoke up. "Is there anything else that you need to do?" she asked Ed.

He looked down at her. "Not really, but I want to bury it properly," he said, gesturing to the pile of bones.

I looked from it to him. I leaned against the shovel and sighed, completely worn out.

I sat off at the side while Ed and Pinako buried the remains. I closed my eyes and rested my head on my knees. My body wanted to shut down, but it was still raining and if I fell asleep now I wouldn't be able to wake up for at least an hour.

Sun light began to shine down on us when they were done. I looked up at the sky and breathed deeply, the warmth a pleasant change.

Ed blocked out the sun and helped me up again.

We made our way back to the Rockbell house and all I wanted to do once there was sleep, but Pinako made me change back into the clothes I'd borrowed before I could do anything.

'So tired,' I thought as I sat down on the couch. I leaned on the armrest and brought my legs up. My eyes closed and my mind tuned out everything around me. It was the first time in a while that I was able to really sleep with no voices, no torture, and no bad memories bothering me.

**A/N: And done! I'm so happy with how this chapter came together. Especially since it only took two days of non-stop typing to finish. **

**So I prefer to listen to music while I write and I find it weird how the Pandora Radio station I listen to has a habit of playing songs that go with what I'm writing. I was writing this and there were a couple songs I can't remember that kinda summed up what kind of emotions I think that Myra and/or Ed were feeling. Yea, my ADD kicked in and I forgot**

**Well anyways I hope you liked it :) Don't expect #31 until late Sunday night/early Monday morning. Until we meet again, please review! Ciao!**


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: Welcome to chapter 31! Sorry for being a little late. I've been fighting off a cold since I last updated. It started with a sore throat and a stuffed-to-hell nose. Now it's just coughing, but it hurts :p. The worst part is that I can't focus when I'm coughing every two seconds. (Sigh) I wonder if I jinxed myself after wanting to write about Myra getting sick from being in the rain...**

**Myra: Haha! Take that bitch! You even think about doing that to me again I'll...**

**Me: -_- so you did this to me **

**Myra: ...uh, maybe...**

**I'll be busy punishing my OC for a little bit, so enjoy this chapter while I do so.**

•••

Ed had just gotten off of the phone with Izumi and was now walking through the living room. He saw Myra on the couch, a peaceful expression on her face as she slept.

'At least one of us is able to relax. It's been a pretty long day and I don't blame her for passing out,' he thought as he stood over her, watching as she breathed in and out easily.

He looked over her once before turning away and walking towards the door. He put on his coat and left the house to go outside.

•

I woke up to find that it was almost sunset and that Ed and Pinako had left.

I yawned loudly and stretched. The sound of footsteps put me on alert. I sighed in relief when Den walked up to me. His tail wagged and he rested his head in my lap.

"Damn dog," I said with a smile. I began petting his head and his tail wagged even more.

The door opened and the others walked inside. Den left me and walked over to them.

"So you finally woke up," Pinako said.

I nodded. "A couple minutes ago actually."

Ed nodded and spoke up. "I'd been hoping to catch today's last train, but when you passed out I thought you'd sleep through it."

I looked over at him and frowned. "Did I?"

He shook his head. "No, it doesn't leave for another hour."

I nodded and stood up. "I'll go get my stuff then. It's a pretty long walk to the train station, right?"

Not bothering to wait for a response, I turned to go up to the guest room. My blue coat was draped on the foot of my bed frame. Smiling, I grabbed it and draped it over my arm.

'I need to find out what happened to my other clothes. If they're still wet I'll dry them my self.'

I face palmed when I saw that my shirt and pants were sitting the on the bed.

I touched the fabric and sighed.

"Of course," I muttered. I slapped my hands together and hit my clothes. Steam rose from them as they dried. I'd done it before, but something didn't feel right this time. I pulled my hands back when I was done and looked at my palms. They looked the same as always, other than my newest scars.

'Weird...' I thought. I shook my hands out and closed the bedroom door so I could change into the clothes I was most comfortable in.

Once dressed, I slipped my arms into the sleeves of my coat and went down stairs. Ed was waiting at the door for me.

"Okay," I said as I met up to him.

"You're really leaving so soon?" Pinako said.

"Yeah. Al's probably mad at me for leaving without any explanation," he said.

"Don't forget about Winry," I reminded him before slumping over. "We're both going to be met with the business end of her wrench."

"All the more reason to get back," Ed said irritation in his voice. "The longer we wait, the worse the punishment." He turned the doorknob and opened the door.

"You will tell him, right?" Pinako asked.

Anger showed up on Ed's face. "Yeah sure, right after I clock him in the face." He went down the porch stairs and started walking down the dirt path.

I raised an eyebrow at the two of them. 'What are they talking about?'

I sighed and turned to Pinako. "Thanks for letting us stay here."

"It's no problem. This is a place where people can come if they need a home," she said.

I smiled at her before closing the door and running to catch up with Ed.

•

I spent most of the trip staring out the window thinking about things. Thanks to my long nap I didn't get tired. Ed sat across from me and was asleep once night hit.

I glanced at the sleeping alchemist and smiled. He was leaning against the window; the hair that didn't fit into his braid flopped in front of his face. He looked calm and relaxed as opposed to earlier.

'Earlier...'

I looked outside and watched as the train passed through the mountains. I wasn't thinking about the scenery as much as I was everything else. Sleeping had allowed for me to calm down and for my mind to clear itself.

I thought back on everything that had happened and closed my eyes. 'I still don't know that much. What happened to my brother and Al? They both had their bodies taken from them, and it's impossible to destroy anything totally. What the hell happened?'

I opened my eyes and looked at the hands that were in my lap. I turned them so I was looking at my palms.

I'd gotten into lots of fights when I was younger, even fighting the teenagers on my side of town. I had scars from all of them, but my eyes weren't focused on any of that. They were more focused on the long scar that stretched across the palm of my left hand. It was larger and a darker color than any of my other scars. I brushed against it with my right fingertips before making a fist, the memory forcing itself up.

I'd never really thought about it, but this had to have been where Drake finally lost any shred of sanity he had left.

_My brother put everything in the middle of the massive circle as I stood off to the side. _

_"Brother, are you sure this will work?" I had asked, my arms folded over each other. I brushed my bangs aside with my hand and looked at the tub of wet mush. "That sure as hell doesn't look like a person to me."_

_He turned to me and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. "Stop being a smart ass. You know it's not going to look like a person until we're done."_

_I shrugged. "If you say so."_

_He sighed and grabbed my hand. "Come on little sis," he said gently as he led me to the middle of the circle. He dropped my hand and looked down to meet my irritated gaze. "It'll take the both of us doing this for it to work."_

_"Are you positive?" I questioned as I raised an eyebrow. _

_He smirked and didn't answer my question. "Hold out your hand."_

_I frowned and did as I was told. "What for?"_

_He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his pocket knife. He snapped it open and fear rushed through me._

_My eyes grew wide and I pulled my hand back. "What the hell is that for!?"_

_His face fell. "Come on Myra," he said. He held out his own hand above the tub. "Here, I'll go first." He touched the tip of the blade against his palm and applied pressure. He winced slightly as he pulled it across, blood coming to the surface. _

_He made a fist and squeezed blood from his hand like it was a lemon. _

_"There," he said when he was done. "Now give me your hand."_

_I held back. His blood was still on the blade, dripping down into what we hoped would turn into our sister when we were done with this._

_"No," I said, holding my hands together at my chest. I didn't want another scar for something that could fail. _

_His expression was now a mixture of sadness, anger, and insanity. _

_"Myra, hold out your hand. Now," he demanded. His voice was no longer gentle, it was forceful._

_His words caused me to freeze. I didn't know what else to do, so I did what was asked of me._

_I gave him my hand and grimaced as he pulled the blade across my palm. He wasn't as careful as he was when he did it, leaving the cut jagged and deep in some spots._

_"There," he said as my blood fell down. He snapped the knife closed and looked at me with evil in his eyes. "Stop being so difficult and do what I tell you."_

_I nodded with wide eyes as I held my bleeding hand with my right one. Pain shot up my arm as my heart pumped blood down to close the wound. Blood dripped down to the floor and I held my breath._

_Drake gestured for me to come with him and I obeyed; half of me afraid of what would come next, and the other half afraid of what he would do next._

I looked back out the window and watched as the last few mountains faded from sight. I sighed and rested my head on my left hand.

'Drake snapped and really was the one that hurt me,' I thought, using my brother's real name for the first time in a long while. 'My skull really is thick! Why the hell did I not want to blame him before!?'

I gripped my pant leg and gritted my teeth. 'Because of what happened to me as a baby, I would have gotten stuck in all of this even if I had stopped him. My fate's been determined from the start.'

I looked back up at Ed and sighed. 'These two are stuck in the same position as me. Ed's the big brother in his situation. I don't know a whole hell of a lot about things between him and Al, but I know that he's going to stop at nothing to fix his little brother.'

A sharp pain hit my chest as I thought about his outburst.

'He was talking from what had happened with him and Al. I wonder if he snapped and that's why he tries to be so strong now.'

As I continued looking at him, I self consciously touched my cheek. My face flushed pink as I tried shaking that part the memory off that out of my head.

'Of course I get to the part where there was physical contact between us,' I thought as I leaned against the window. I blew my bangs away and looked out at the scenery. 'If I'm kicking him down then sure, but that's different.'

I sighed and watched as we passed by a small town. 'Never thought I could be such a girl. It's weird.'

•••

When they finally got back to the hotel the next day, neither of them was sure how to react when they saw Winry on the phone in the lobby.

'Crap!' Ed thought.

Winry turned around towards them. The phone fell from her hand and there was a certain evil on her face.

"Morons!" she screamed, drawing attention from everyone around them.

"Heh, hi Winry," Myra said.

Winry seethed with rage and pulled a wrench from nowhere. "Where the hell have you been!?"

Myra's eyes grew wide. "Just let us explain..."

Her words were cut off when the wrench met her head, knocking her out cold.

"Winry!" Ed yelled, before bending down to pick up the bloody wrench. He pointed it at her and fumed. "Stop it with the tools! Can't we explain before you kill us!?"

The blue eyed blonde glared at him. "You! Just go upstairs! You need to see Al," she commanded.

Ed didn't know whether to panic or be confused, but he ran up the stairs and to his room.

Winry glared at his back before turning to her roommate. The girl was splayed out on the floor and there was a bloody spot on her head.

"Maybe I shouldn't have thrown it so hard," she thought out loud, looking down on her friend.

Myra slowly opened her eyes and looked up with Winry. She narrowed her eyes and fumed. "Gee, ya think?" she said as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. "That was brutal." She pressed her hand to her head and glared up at Winry.

"What the hell!?" Ed's voice screamed from the second floor. Myra raised an eyebrow and started running up the stairs.

Her jaw dropped when she saw Al.

"How are you this beat up!?" Ed went on, gawking at the fact his brother had half of his head left and was missing an arm.

"Heh," Al said, rubbing the back of his metal head with the hand he still had. "It's a long story."

Ed turned on his heel to yell at Ling and Lan Fan. "And you guys! What the hell are you doing here!?"

"Enjoying a delicious meal," Ling said bluntly.

Ed fumed and kicked them out. He closed the door and turned back to Al and Winry.

"Explain," he demanded.

•

"Barry the Chopper and the homunculi, huh," Ed said when Al was done. "And then to top it off you find out your body might reject your soul."

I stuck a hand up. "I'll bet you 1000 cens that he jinxed himself by finding that out."

Ignoring my comment, Ed took the arm that had fallen off and stuck it back into the socket.

He clapped his hands and touched Al's shoulder. A bright blue light shined and the metal began to merge with the arm, while the helmet extended to fix the jaw. When he was done, Ed stepped back and blew out a sigh of relief.

"He can get his body back, right Ed?" Winry asked the rage in her voice from earlier gone.

He looked over at her with a determined expression on his face. "Yeah, of course he can. I told you I'm getting him his body back."

"You realize I'm still confused as to how you came to that conclusion," I said as I sat down on the couch.

"I was going to get to that," he said, sitting down on the edge of the coffee table. He looked up at Al, his expression depressed and strong at the same time. I knew that look.

'You're just going to drop the bomb here!?' I thought with wide eyes. 'Out of nowhere? What the hell!?'

"Al, I've got something to tell you," he said.

"What is it?" the little Elric asked.

Ed exhaled before speaking. "While in Resembull, Myra and I dug up the remains of what you and I transmuted..."

"What!?" Al and Winry exclaimed at the same time.

"Brother! How could you do something like that without telling me!?" Al continued.

"Don't yell at me just yet! Listen, I discovered that the thing we made wasn't actually Mom," he went on.

My heart sank when he said that.

Al put his hands to his head. "Hold on. Then... what was it that we made?"

Ed's face fell. "I don't know, but whatever it was it was something completely different."

There was a painful silence as everyone thought things over. Ed's voice cut through it.

"There's a bright side to all of this. I'm now convinced that you can be returned to your original body," he said.

Winry and Al's faces lit up like stars. "Really!?" they exclaimed.

I frowned and raised an eyebrow. 'Freaky,' I thought. 'Perfect unison. I guess that's what happens when you're close enough to be brother-sister.'

"Before you say anything I have a question you Winry," Ed said.

Winry raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Ed's face turned pink and he fumbled over what he wanted to say. "Uh... do you remember a fight that Al and I had about... which one of us would get to... marry you?"

I snorted a laugh. "Hahahaha!" I doubled over on the couch. "What kind of a fight is that?"

Ed shot me a glare as I laughed at that. His face was still pink, not helping matters on my side at all.

"You mean the fight we were talking about on the hospital roof?" Al said.

Ed stopped glaring at me to turn back to Al. "Yeah that one."

"Yeah of course I remember that," Winry said.

"Okay," Ed said. "Al said that you turned him down."

Winry nodded. "Yeah, that's right. I turned you both down actually."

I started laughing again, earning yet another glare from pink Ed. I stopped, but a smile remained on my face.

He turned back to the two of them and said, "This question is for the both of you then. What was your reason for turning us down?"

They looked at each other nervously.

I raised an eyebrow. "Well get on with it," I said.

They both turned to Ed. Al started. "She said..."

"...'I just don't like men that are shorter than I am'," Winry said along with him.

It was if a bullet had been shot into Ed's chest. He went into a total shock for a few moments before pulling himself together.

Winry and Al started reminiscing over everything the two of them had done to Ed. With every prank out in the open, Ed looked like he was going to burst.

"Okay, that's enough," Ed said, almost depressed.

"How is calling you short proving that Al can get his body back?" I questioned, done with my laughter.

Ed looked over at me.

"Because I couldn't possibly have known about any of that, which means it really is Al's soul in there."

Al looked over at his brother. Even in armor I could imagine what his face would look like; happy and relieved at the same time.

Ed kept going. "And you still have all your memories from before you were ten. The question is now, if you don't have your brain then where have your memories been stored ever since."

Al lifted his head up and pointed to the blood seal. "What about this?"

Ed shook his head. "No, that's just a symbol to keep you bound to the armor."

Al stuck his head back on as Ed continued. "I have a hunch that Al's body still exists and that his brain is still functioning."

Al gasped, and I looked up at him. "Like Barry's body!" he said.

I thought about Al's story and shuddered.

"Right! Alchemy states that a human is made up of the body, soul, and spirit. The spirit must be what connects the body and soul."

I nodded in understanding. "I guess that makes sense."

Al put a hand to his chin. "The spirit must also be what draws the body and soul together. That's why Barry's soul followed his body."

"Right!" Ed said again. "So what I'm thinking is that maybe your soul and body are still connected."

I blinked as my own thought swirled in my head. "Then where is his body? If they're drawn to one another, then wouldn't you guys have found it already?"

Ed looked back at me with a frown. "I was getting to that." He turned back to Al. "The day we tried to bring mom back, I unconsciously said 'they took him.' I didn't say that you'd died. Your body was taken as a toll to enter the portal of Truth. Myra and I did the same, giving up parts of our body. I did it again to pull you out using my arm."

I unconsciously gripped my pant leg again.

A sad look began to form on Ed's face. He breathed out before going on. "Mom is with the dead now. Her spirit is broken, which means that we could never have brought her back. But I was able to pull your soul out, which is a sign that you must be with the living."

He looked down at his metal hand and made a fist. "When I stretched out my hand, I didn't see mom there." He hit Al's chest with his hand. "You were closer then I was. What did you see?"

Al seemed to stare off into space as he thought. He looked down at his own hand. "I reached out... and it was me! I was grabbing my own arm."

"Okay, so that must mean you're still trapped in there," Ed said. His face was determined.

Al clenched his fist. "I remember... I remember looking at you through the eyes of what we thought was mom."

My eyes grew wide, as did Ed's. My stomach lurched at the thought of Al being stuffed into what was there.

"You mean you were inside?" Ed asked.

Al looked up at him. "Yeah. My soul must not have bound and it rejected me immediately."

"You guys are lucky he didn't bind," I said, swallowing.

Ed nodded. He looked down at nothing as his face fell. His fists clenched as he spoke.

"Look Al. I'm not asking for your forgiveness. It's me who dragged you into transmuting something completely unrelated. And now I've given you a body that's like a time bomb."

My eye twitched with irritation. I opened my mouth to yell at him, but a knocking on the door interrupted me.

"Mr. Elric?" said the voice of a hotel employee. "You have a phone call from an Izumi Curtis."

Momentarily forgetting what I was about to do, I raised an eyebrow. "Your teacher?"

Ed stood up and left the room. Al followed behind soon after he'd left.

My eyebrow stayed raised until I couldn't hear Al's metal steps. I stood up and started for the door.

"What are you doing?" Winry asked.

I looked back at her. "You can't tell me you're not curious."

She sighed and I stepped out. I walked down the hall and stopped at the top of the stairs. I heard Ed and Al talking. I backed up to the wall and looked around the corner.

"Hey Ed," Al said. "You know ever since that night I've blamed myself. I never said anything, but I thought Mom was turned into that thing because of me. I thought that I'd done something wrong to screw it up."

My heart skipped a beat as he held his face in his hands.

"I blamed myself too," Ed said softly.

If Al could have, I knew that he'd be in tears by then.

"Thanks Brother. I wasn't the one that killed Mom after all."

Ed's hands clenched into fists. "I'm not the one who killed Mom, but I'm still the one that put you in that body and I can't be forgiven if I give up. I promise Al, I'm going to get you your body back."

"Brother, what you did was wrong but you don't have to take all of the blame. You're always doing that and it hurts to watch you do that."

Ed got a guilty look on his face and I narrowed my eyes at him. 'There! Listen to him!'

Winry came from behind me and leaned against the wall. I turned around and looked at her.

"You caught me, I am curious," she admitted. Her voice was quiet so that we wouldn't disturb them.

I nodded and looked back at them.

Al kept going. "After Mr. Hughes died I told myself that if getting my body back means people are going to get hurt, then I don't care. This metal body is like a time bomb, but are humans made of flesh and blood really that different? I mean, you can't tell when you'll die. I can live normally like this, but... I..."

I raised an eyebrow at his pause.

"I don't want to spend the nights awake and alone anymore!"

My eyes grew wide and my heart jumped. "Al..." I whispered.

He kept going still. "That's the only reason I want my body back."

Ed nodded. "I just want to see you smile again, Al. That's all."

"I don't want to drag anyone else into this!" Al exclaimed, his hands in fists at his side. "I'm going to get my body back and I'm not going to lose anyone while doing so!"

Ed laughed. "Exactly what I'm thinking!"

Ed turned around and hit the banister. "Let's track down that Truth bastard and pull you out!"

He marched up the stairs and I pulled back. I flattened my back against the wall and watched as they walked back to the room.

Winry stepped up to me, an evil smile on her face.

"What are you doing?" I asked uncomfortably.

"I caught you admiring him from behind," she said in a teasing tone.

My face turned pink. "What are you talking about?"

The smile stayed there. "You want to go after him that's fine. He's like family to me, so you don't have to pretend."

The pink stayed there and I turned my head away. "Sh-shouldn't we go back to the room?" I stammered, pointing down the hall.

She sighed and gave up. "Fine."

I breathed a sigh of relief when she let it go, but something told me she wasn't going to quit that easily.

**A/N: Hahaha! So how was that? Over 4000 words, making this my longest chapter yet. God I didn't think I could get this far with only conversations. But be happy my fluffies, for the next chapter shall have a good chunk of action! I'm back on the story line, so there's only action when it's in the manga or anime.**

**Myra: Thanks for forgetting about me.**

**Me: (looks up and sees Myra tied and swinging from her legs) You asked for it. I would have done a side story where you get sick, but that didn't work very well. **

**Myra: (glares at the author) You couldn't have turned me into a cat again?**

**For those of you who don't know, in my side story for this I turned them into cats. Myra was nearly eaten. **

**Myra: Don't ignore me!**

**Well please review! I'll see you next week!**

**Myra: HOPELESS!**


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: Hello! Extra chapter again this week! I was up until almost 2 A.M typing last night and I've been typing every free second I had. Don't go expecting extra chapters every week though. With my Christmas break in a couple weeks, I've had more time than usual.**

**So I, uh... kinda lied about the action. It's in the next chapter and I am working on it right now. I checked the manga out from my library so that I could compare the anime with the book. I've been using the manga and book 11 has been taking up the past couple chapters, since my chapter 29 actually. It's been a lot of conversations, so sorry if your disappointed, but I couldn't get in the action with out going too far. Chapter 45 of the manga is killer long and it goes from Al's line to the fight with Scar. So let's get on with it!**

•

Things only got more complicated when Al said this:

"What if it's rotten!?"

We all looked at him.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my eyebrow raised.

"My body!" he exclaimed. "Where ever it is it isn't getting any nutrients or sleep, so what if it's starting to rot and fall apart!?"

My stomach lurched at the thought and Winry gasped.

"He's right Ed!" she said, panic in her voice. "What are we going to do if that's the case?"

Ed put a hand to his chin and thought. "This is just a hypothesis but when we tried to transmute Mom, you and I mixed our blood. After that was when we were both deconstructed."

The palm of my hand stung when he mentioned that. I made a fist and continued listening.

"Maybe during that process our spirits crossed," he went on.

Al spoke up. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that maybe we're connected, even though I'm here and you're elsewhere. I mean it makes sense. For my age I'm pretty sh-..." Ed's face fell as he stammered. "Sho-... short."

I felt like laughing, but I was still the smallest one in the room.

"He admitted it," Winry whispered to Al.

"He's finally faced reality," he said back to her. I snorted a laugh at this one.

A dark cloud seemed to hang over Ed's head.

"Wait a sec," Winry said with her arms crossed. "Are you trying to say that you've been providing for Al's body as well as yours and that that's why you're short? That's ridiculous."

Ed fumed before he yelled at her. "It's not ridiculous!"

"You're short because you don't drink your milk!" she shot back.

Ed put his hands on his head. "Why did ya have to bring that stuff into the argument!?"

"Because it's true!"

He pointed at me. "What about Myra? She drinks milk and she's short!"

"Well she's a girl! Girls are normally shorter than guys!"

"But she's shorter than you!"

My eye twitched but as I thought about what Ed was saying things began to add up.

"It all makes sense," I said, my voice cutting through their arguing. They all looked over at me. Not meeting any of their gazes, I stared at my left hand. "I mean I've always been small and I probably wasn't going to get much taller anyway, but it might explain why I can fall asleep anywhere and eat anything I get in my mouth with out being such a fat ass." I smirked at my last statement.

"Well I hope it's true," Al said. I looked up at him with a sliver of a smile on my face. "After all, as brothers Ed and I share the same blood."

Ed and Al hit fists. "That's right, the two of make one person," Ed said with a smile. This caused me to smile. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the look of teasing evil on Winry's face. I glared at her from beneath my hair.

'Go ahead and say something,' I thought. 'That damn wrench of yours will be shoved up something that you rather it not the moment you do so.'

"When you're back to normal I'll start growing taller again," Ed said the smile still on his face. "Things are finally looking up."

"You need to start taking better care of yourself now that we know you're working for both of us Brother, which means you need to start drinking milk."

Ed almost snapped. "Again with the milk!?"

The smile on my face faded as my own thoughts came in.

'Unless I find some way to break the connection that's keeping my brother and I bound together, I'm going to be stuck like this,' I thought as the two argued about milk. 'I guess there's my next goal. I wonder if I can do it before we finally come face-to-face with the enemy...'

Winry's voice cut through. "I guess this means I can go back to Mr. Garfiel's tomorrow."

I looked up and watched as she started to walk off. "So you're leaving?"

Winry nodded and turned towards me. "Yeah. I've put off a lot of work by coming out here and I need to get back soon."

I nodded. "Do you want me to help you pack?" I offered.

She held a hand up and started walking. "I'm good. You guys keep talking."

I blinked at her answer before looking back at the guys.

They carried on from what they had previously been talking about.

"Our only problem now is how to open the portal," Al said. "What could we give up as payment this time?

Ed hunched over and leaned his elbows on his knees. I caught him looking at his flesh hand and narrowed my eyes. My clenched fist met with the top of his head and he cried out in pain.

"What was that for!?" he questioned angrily as he held his head in his hands.

"You goddamn dumb ass!" I exclaimed, getting in his face. He reeled back from my being so close and looked at me with wide eyes. "I know you were thinking about giving up your other arm or your leg! That can't be how it works. You can't just say 'here, take a limb' whenever you want something like this!"

"She's right Brother," Al said. "We promised each other that we'd both get our bodies back."

He put on a fake smile. "I-I know. You're right, we made a promise."

Al thought for a moment and I returned to my original sitting position.

"There's always the Philosopher's Stone," he suggested. My eye twitched at this comment. I reached up and hit his head from behind, knocking it loose but not off.

"That thing is made with human lives," I reminded him as I sat back down. "Didn't you guys say you weren't going to let anyone else get hurt?"

"Yeah, I know..."

Al folded his arms across his chest and Ed flopped face first onto his bed. I sighed and slouched against the arm of the couch.

"That reminds me," Ed's voice said, muffled from the pillow he was talking into.

"What is it?" I asked.

He pushed himself up and faced Al and me. "They called us their 'precious human sacrifices'. That's why they didn't want us dead."

I raised an eyebrow and glanced over at him. "You mean the homunculi?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

'Is he about to go off on what I've been thinking about on my own for the last few days?' I thought, moving my arms beneath me so that my head was resting on them.

Al answered my unspoken question. "That's right. Lust said that only those that have opened the portal were chosen as sacrifices."

I made a sound in the back of my throat, unintentionally drawing their attention towards me. "I already knew that," I said.

Ed raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

I looked over at him and met his gaze. "That bastard Truth may be a pain in the ass, but he drops pretty helpful clues once he's got you."

"Why didn't you tell us?" he asked, somewhat irritated.

"I don't know," I said after a moment. "It never came up in conversation until now, but I've been racking my brain around for answers ever since. I've drawn a blank outside of what some of their goals are and that there's a specific individual that's in control of all this."

He nodded before going off on other points. "I wonder if that individual is the one who created the homunculi."

I shrugged. "No clue, but that seems like the right answer."

Ed nodded again. "I wonder if it has something to do with the military."

A light went off in my head and I shot straight up before digging into my pants pocket.

"What are you doing?" Ed asked as he raised an eyebrow.

A smile stretched over my face. "I finally got it!" I exclaimed as I looked at my pocket watch.

"Got what?" Al asked me.

I turned the cover towards Ed and forced it in front of his face. "What do you see?"

He leaned away and pushed my hand away. "Have you gone insane?"

I frowned. "No, now answer me."

He looked at the watch. "I see the military seal."

"And what is on the seal?" I questioned, trying to get him on the same path as me.

"The dragon..."

"Yes!" I said, cutting him off. "And what did we see in that circle the other day?"

His eyes lit up in realization. "A dragon," he answered.

The smile on my face grew. "And where else have there been dragons?"

Ed went quiet.

Frowning, I turned to Al. "Do you know?"

He shook his head. "No clue."

I slumped in exasperation. "These dragons have been eating at me for at least a week and I finally figured out where the hell else I've been seeing them."

"Well are you going to tell us?" Ed asked.

I glared at him before having to blow my bangs away again. "How about a hint first? Think super humans."

Al was the first to answer. "The homunculi! The ouroboros tattoo looks like a dragon."

My smile came back. "Exactly!"

Ed spoke up. "So let me get this straight, you think that there's some connection between Xerces, the Amestrian military, and the homunculi?"

"Yes," I said simply. "I don't know what exactly the connection is, but it's gotta mean something."

He shrugged. "I guess it makes sense. The connection between Xerces and Amestris makes sense, seeing as a lot of our alchemic knowledge came from over there, but I don't know how it connects with the homunculi."

"Maybe you're right and the military is involved some how," Al said.

This brought on a certain silence.

I sat back down on the couch and looked up at the ceiling. "We'd need to talk to a homunculus to be able to figure that out for sure."

"How do we do that?" Al asked.

"I think I might have an idea," Ed said. He reached into his own pocket and pulled out his watch. "Maybe I can go into the building where you ran into them and find one."

Sighing, I looked down at the silver pocket watch that was still in my hand. My thumb traced over the insignia before I gripped it tight.

'We've got you cornered now.'

•

Ed and I walked back out and met with Al.

"Well that sure was quick," he said.

"We didn't find anything," I said as I stuffed my hands into my pockets.

"Was my map wrong?" Al asked.

Ed pulled out the piece of paper from his pocket. "No I don't think so. I think it used to be there but now it's sealed up. There were faint transmutation marks on the wall."

"I guess the military's not a stupid as it seems," I said as I looked up at the two. "They took the time to cover something up, anyway."

"Where are we going to find a homunculus now?" Al asked.

The sound of fast paced footsteps put me on alert. I looked up and saw Sergeant Brosh.

"I didn't know you still had body guards," I muttered to Ed. His forehead crinkled in confusion.

"I don't think that's it," he said back.

Brosh stopped in front of us, panting. "Thank goodness I found you guys. I went to the hotel and they said you would be over here."

"What is it?" I asked.

He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Ed. I moved closer so I could read it.

I'd finished reading the paper and clenched my fists. 'Great. Yet another enemy I've gotta deal with.'

"The Ishbalan man with the X shaped scar and the tattoo on his arm is back," Brosh said. "I've been alerting State Alchemists all night long. You should return to your hotel as soon as you can. If you want I can assign guards..."

"No," I interrupted. "We don't need guards."

He opened his mouth to say something but then closed it. "Okay," he said as he turned around. "I've got work to do, so please stay safe."

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I stopped myself. He started running down the other direction.

Ed's hands became fists, crushing the edge of the paper.

"What is it?" I asked him. "You guys have dealt with Scar before, right?"

"Yeah," Al said. "Soon after you left on your first assignment we had a run in with him. Ed's right arm was destroyed in the fight."

My head wound throbbed as I thought about what would happen if I'd busted my leg. "Winry must've been pissed."

Ed didn't look at us as he spoke. "There's something I need to tell you guys."

"Hm?" I said.

His fierce expression went soft and he finally met our gazes. "Let's go back to the hotel. I'll tell you then."

Confusion swept over me as we walked back.

'What's wrong now?' I thought.

Once back in their room, Ed finally explained.

My jaw dropped. "Scar killed Winry's parents!?"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Shut up," he hissed. "Your room is right next door, do you want her to hear us?"

My mouth closed tight before I started talking again. "How do you know?"

"While we were in Xerces I ran into a few Ishbalans. There were some people there that knew a couple of Amestrian doctors with the last name Rockbell."

"Where was I when all of this was going on?" I questioned.

"I trailed off behind you guys while you were looking around," he explained.

"Are you sure it was him?" Al asked.

"I'm pretty sure. The description checks out enough," he said.

"Brother you can't tell Winry about this," he said.

"I couldn't do that!" Ed exclaimed. He bowed his head and looked at the ground. "I don't want to make her cry again."

"Me either," Al said, his voice softer now.

No one said anything for a few moments. The amount of depression and silence in the room was starting to make me uncomfortable.

"We need to confront Scar," Ed said eventually.

Al looked up at his brother. "You're going to ask him about her parents?"

"Yes, but there's more than that," he explained vaguely.

"Go on," I insisted.

"I'm going to lure out the homunculi."

I raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"We're sacrifices, right? So they need us alive. If we get into a fight with Scar then they'll come out. His main goal is to kill State Alchemists, so they'll have to come out and make sure he can't go along with it."

It sounded like a good plan, but I wasn't sure as to if it would work or not.

"Seems like a long shot," Al commented.

"It's better than doing nothing!" Ed retorted with his hands on his hips.

"But it didn't take that long for Scar to over power us the last time," the little Elric argued. "Are you sure you can handle him?"

It was my turn to be irritated. "What the hell am I, a hunk of meat?" I said. They both looked at me, surprised at my outburst. "I'm gonna be there this time, so he'll have to get through the both of us. Besides, with more than one sacrifice in danger there's a better chance that the homunculi are going to come out."

Ed nodded, but Al wasn't convinced.

"Even so, how do you plan on catching one of the homunculi?" he questioned.

"I... uh..." Strangely enough Ed was at a loss for words.

"Don't worry! I heard everything!"

I jumped up when I heard the extra voice. I turned around and saw Ling coming in from the window. "What the hell!?"

"How long have you been there!?" Ed exclaimed.

"Ever since you kicked me out," the idiot prince said bluntly. He came in and sat on the bed. "I've decided to help you with your plan."

I scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"What are you scheming?" Ed growled.

Ling smiled sweetly. "Oh come on. We're friends right? I just want to help."

Ed's eye twitched in irritation.

Finally getting the fact we weren't buying his story, he gave up on the innocent act.

"Okay fine," he said. "Listen, I want to know the secret of the homunculi too." He pointed at Lan Fan. "If we're close enough, the two of us can sense their presence. You guys lure them out, and we'll set the trap. How about it?"

A smile made its way onto Ed's face, his irritation fading. "A joint effort huh? Agreed."

I narrowed my eyes the squinty eyed prince. "I don't trust you."

His face fell. "Oh come on! I apologized for what happened back in Rush Valley..."

My eyebrow lifted up as I crossed my arms over each other. 'What apology?'

"… Besides, I owe you guys a meal," he finished.

Ed attained the same look I wore as Ling handed him a receipt. His eyes grew wide.

"What the hell!? That's more than just a meal!" he screamed as he kicked them out of the window.

The door opened with a loud crash. All our eyes looked over and caught sight of a very angry Winry.

"You guys are like little kids! I have to get up early tomorrow!" she screamed.

Realization hit Ed's face. "Oh yeah you're going back tomorrow..." He trailed and I had a feeling I knew what he was thinking.

"What's the rush? Maybe you should stay a while longer."

Winry narrowed her eyes at him.

He swallowed and rubbed the back of his head before continuing. "It's just that... you know... I could break my arm again... Yeah, I'll probably break it..."

The violent blonde pulled a wrench out of thin air and slugged Ed on the back of the head. He fell to the ground, almost unconscious.

"You're planning to break it now!?" she screamed. She growled and turned to glare at me.

My eyes grew wide and I held my hands up in surrender. "I'm keeping this leg intact! I won't break my automail like Ed!"

Her eyes remained narrowed as she tucked the wrench under her arm. "You should get to sleep soon."

"Uh, okay," I said. I followed her back to the room and sighed.

'Tomorrow should be fun. I get to fight a new enemy and if all goes well I'll have some more answers.'

**A/N: Well there ya go! I PROMISE that there will be action in the next chapter. As much as I love writing conversations (eye roll) it's getting a little too weak. Some ass kicking should make my brain feel better. **

**So who else noticed all the dragons? I can't have been the only one. I may have fudged up that particular Xerces circle, but I know that there was a dragon somewhere.**

**Well I'll see you next week! **


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: Soon after I updated last week, I came to the conclusion that FMA is the only thing keeping me from going insane. I had gotten SOOOOOO pissed off and I ended up cussing at my younger sister (thinking: she deserved it...) and I would have broken something if I'd had the chance. I hid out in my room for a while and managed to calm myself down by thinking about writing this and about the FMA series. I could have lost it but thankfully I didn't.**

**Well there's the ramble about my life for this past week, but you people come for the story, so let's get on with it :)**

•

The next morning, I woke up to hear a knocking on the door.

The bed beside me creaked, but not like anyone was getting up.

'I'll get the door Winry. Oh thanks Myra. No problem Win, you just leave it to me,' I thought with an eye roll. I pushed myself up and hobbled to the door.

I opened it and squinted my eyes when the amount of light changed. I blinked a few times and the guys came into view.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned as I leaned against the door frame.

He didn't answer my question and asked one of his own. "Did you just wake up?"

"No, of course not," I said sarcastically as I pushed my bangs out of my face. "I've been awake for hours doing my hair while wearing my night clothes. How's it looking?"

He looked at me as if I'd gone crazy.

Sighing, I held a hand out to keep him from saying anything. "Just give me a sec."

I closed the door in his face and turned back towards my bed. Winry was still out of it on hers.

'Lazy ass blonde,' I thought, as I yanked my night shirt up over my head.

I changed in less than a minute and pulled my hair back as well.

"Okay, I'm good," I said as I stepped out. The two looked over at me. "So what's the plan?"

The smile that was on Ed's face made me uncomfortable. "You'll know in a little bit."

My forehead furrowed in confusion as I followed him out.

As we walked down the street, my confusion only grew. I watched as Ed looked around, as if he were trying to find something.

A loud squeal sounded from down the street. I looked over and flinched when I heard a loud crash; two cars had narrowly avoided hitting each other, but one of them had hit a lamp post. Steam rose into the air as the insides of the car were crushed from the impact.

"Damn," I said. The uneasy feeling came back as a large smile spread across Ed's face.

"Uh, Ed?"

He looked at me, the smile still there. "This is the plan." He rushed over and made himself extremely noticeable.

My eyebrow rose as he put on a show of clapping his hands and fixing everything.

'I think I get it now,' I thought as I ran over to him.

"How much should I pay you?" said the guy who's car Ed fixed.

"I wouldn't dream of taking payment," Ed said on a very dramatic fashion.

The man's jaw dropped. "Really?"

A smile of my own came up and I joined him in fixing whatever people brought to us. We spent the next few hours putting on a show while Al acted as the cheerleader. I had actually forgotten about the fact it was supposed to be a trap.

Eventually whispers about the two youngest State Alchemists in history were floating around Central.

"Fame and a trap," I commented when we sat down outside for lunch. "Well played my friend."

Ed was about to say something, but a car pulled up and interrupted him.

"Well, you two are behaving strangely," a familiar voice said.

Ed bit down on his straw and looked more than pissed.

Frowning, I craned my neck to see who was speaking. "Oh, it's just Colonel Creepy," I said flatly before I could stop myself.

Mustang's usual expression turned into one of confusion as Ed and Al laughed at my nickname for him.

"Excuse me?" he said finally.

Their laughter eventually died down and Ed started speaking. "So what do you want?"

As if forgetting my creative nickname, he carried on the conversation. "I heard about how the Fullmetal and Silver Steel alchemists were downtown and decided to check things out for myself. I need to talk to you guys about some things."

My eyebrow went up. "What do you need me for? You're not my commanding officer..."

"Colonel Baker and I didn't just partner you up for the hell of it," he explained, interrupting me. "We've made an alliance and have agreed to share information."

Frowning at this, I crossed my arms over my chest. 'I guess that explains why I haven't been going any where. Baker wants to know what these guys are up to and is using me as his little spy.'

Mustang gestured to the car. "You three get in. We shouldn't talk some where so public."

My eyebrow rose. "You're crazy."

The three of us then tried packing into the car. Ed and I were small enough (ARG!) to comfortably sit in the front next to Hawkeye. Al, however, was crushing Colonel Creepy completely.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Creepy said, voice muffled from the fact his face was pressed against the window.

A few minutes later we were all standing around the car. Hawkeye had driven us somewhere near the military dorms.

"So Marcoh's been captured?" I stated. It wasn't really a question, but that's how it came out.

Mustang nodded. "Along with the Philosopher's Stones he'd made."

"This all so confusing," I complained as I scratched at my head.

"The Stones were used in Ishbal, right?" Ed said. Mustang nodded again.

I started talking again. "The Stones, the dark side of the military, Ishbal, even the homunculi are all connected in some way. If we could just figure out that, then we'd be closer to figuring out what the hell is going on."

Ed looked over at the Colonel. "What happened in Ishbal anyway?"

Mustang didn't answer this question. A mix of emotions flicked in his black eyes before he asked a question of his own.

"Speaking of Ishbal, you two have been making a big scene of yourselves. It's as if you want Scar to find you."

"That's because we do," Ed answered.

Mustang raised an eyebrow. "What for? Did you already forget about the last time you guys ran into him?"

An evil flame burned in Ed's eyes as he taunted Mustang. "Are you afraid of big bad Scar? Must be because you were so useless last time!"

"Shut up! It was raining that day and I couldn't do anything!" he shouted.

I snickered and said, "Colonel Mustang: useless when wet."

Ed smiled at my comment and Mustang started yelling at me too.

"Will you two quit it!?" he exploded. "And what was with that 'Colonel Creepy' comment anyway!?"

I snorted a laugh. "Do you even have to ask?"

His eye twitched. All went silent the moment Hawkeye pulled out her gun.

My heart stopped as I turned around. Standing about 10 meters behind us was the villain we'd been waiting for. He had a hood pulled over his head and was wearing sunglasses, but I could still see the "X" shaped scar that gave him his name.

"Looks like accepted the invitation Fullmetal," Mustang growled.

"Shut up, at least this plan worked better than any of your attempts to get this guy."

The Lieutenant aimed her gun at Scar and Ed reacted immediately.

"Don't shoot!" he ordered, holding a hand out to stop her.

"And why the hell shouldn't I?" she questioned.

"I'm gonna take a page from the Colonel's book and do some fishing."

I pulled my hands out of my pockets and readied myself for a fight.

Scar's hood fell off of his head and he pulled out his right hand. He touched the ground and it gleamed a bright red, almost like a Philosopher's stone.

"The hell?" I thought out loud.

The ground began to crumble beneath our feet. I hopped from fragment to fragment before finally clapping my hands. The blue light shown as I formed a platform for me to stand on.

Ed ran straight for Scar without an ounce of hesitation in his step.

I could only watch in horror as Scar held his hand out. Ed clapped his hands and my jaw dropped as his automail hand met with the outstretched hand of his opponent. A burst of red and blue light blinded me. When I could finally see I saw Ed lying on his back, half of his coat torn to shreds.

"You idiot!" I screamed from my platform. He looked over at me and sighed in relief.

"I didn't think that would work," he said as he stood up.

My eye twitched. "So you tried it anyway!? What if that had backfired!? You'd be in a million pieces!"

He shrugged me off and my eyes narrowed in irritation. Luckily for us Scar seemed completely confused with what had just happened.

"He negated the deconstruction energy that Scar was using," Al explained.

I sighed and clapped my hands again. I hopped down and hit the ground, deconstructing the area around Scar and blowing it back up like a catapult. He was sent flying into a wall, a loud crack sounding as he did so.

Red sparks lit up the air around where he'd hit. His low voice started speaking as he rose from the shadows.

"It's sad to see young people getting involved with this country's military," he said as he stepped closer. I could now see his eyes. They were filled with disgust and a want for revenge. He held up his arm, as if to show off the tattoo. "However, my mission will not be over until I've disposed of all of you."

My eyes narrowed at him. "What the hell did I ever do to you?" I questioned.

He didn't answer as he stepped forward. He started to run, coming straight at me. I readied myself and bent my knees. I moved out of his reach and kicked him in the back. Trying to send him down proved to be a futile waste of time. Unlike the times when I kicked Ed, this guy was too massive.

I gritted my teeth and jumped up in hopes of landing on him. I was surprised when the road came up and shoved him backwards. I landed on the transmuted stone and steadied myself.

"Nice hit!" I called to the brothers. Neither of them acknowledged my presence, but I didn't care. I was enjoying the rush of adrenaline that was pumping through my veins.

They chased him down another turn and I started running to catch up. I noticed that MPs were everywhere at this point, all of them trying to get a clear shot at Scar.

"Tch," I scoffed. I picked up my pace and clapped my hands. The wall I running next to began to deconstruct as I brushed my fingertips against it. Smiling as the familiar blue light shown, I made myself a spear. The smile turned into a grin as the material turned into something harder than the rock.

'The only good thing I got out of my brother is this trick is seems,' I thought.

I caught sight of Scar and aimed my weapon, the grin growing. My arm pulled back and I shot the spear towards him. My eyes grew wide as it missed and got stuck in the wall behind him.

My hands clenched. "Dammit!"

Ed clapped his hands and hit the ground and Scar was pushed back again.

Kneeling over as I panted for breath, my adrenaline rush was starting to lose its effects.

"Shit," I cursed.

"Are you okay Myra!?" Al called, ever the caring soul.

Nodding, I breathed deeply. "Yeah I'm fine, just keep going!"

He nodded and started running after Ed and Scar.

The panting resumed once he was out of sight.

"Fuck, how the hell did I burn out so easily?" I mumbled.

"Hey kid!" a voice shouted. "This area's dangerous."

My eyes narrowed at the MP behind me. I pulled myself together and started running again.

Ed and Al had him cornered by now. As I looked around, I noticed a couple of unconscious MPs slumped in an alley.

"Okay, who got the bystanders involved!?" I screamed.

They didn't seem to hear me as Scar continued talking.

"... It was impossible for her to be returned back to normal. She would've been stuck as a lab animal for the rest of her life."

My heart skipped a beat as I looked at Ed. His hands were clenched into fists.

'What the hell are they talking about?' I thought as Ed started speaking.

"I know that alchemists have made a lot of mistakes, but that doesn't mean I can agree with what you're doing! You're killing innocent people! Does an agent of God take the lives of innocent doctors that devoted their lives to helping people?"

My head turned when I heard footsteps coming from the alley. My eyes grew wide when I saw her.

"Ed!" I shouted.

Al had the same reaction. "Brother!"

He didn't bother listening to us. "Do you remember a couple of Amestrian doctors named Rockbell? They risked their lives to save Ishbalan refugees, and you killed them!"

"Edwaaaard!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. He finally looked over at me, rage in his eyes. They grew wide when he finally noticed Winry standing off to the side.

Her blue eyes were filled with terror and sadness. She fell to her knees, tears already streaming down her cheeks.

"You mean this is the guy that killed my mom and dad?" she said, her voice soft. "They were killed by someone that they helped?"

Scar said nothing as he looked down at her.

"You're not denying it? Why would you do that? What did they do to deserve that? They didn't hurt anyone, did they?"

My heart pulled as she continued sobbing. "Winry..."

"Give them back!" she screamed. "Give me back my mom dad!"

I watched as Winry looked at the gun that the unconscious MP had dropped. My eyes grew wide.

"Winry, don't even think about it," I warned.

She glanced up at me before reaching for the gun. She held it in her trembling hands and pointed it at Scar.

"Winry, put it down," Ed commanded.

"You shouldn't even think about touching something like that!" Al exclaimed.

I watched as tears streamed down her face. "Come on Winry."

Scar looked down at her. "So you're the daughter of those doctors. You have every right to shoot me," he said. "But keep in mind that the moment you squeeze the trigger I'll consider you my enemy."

"Winry!" Ed shouted.

"Don't shoot!" Al cried out.

Her hands continued shaking as Scar stepped forward.

"If you lay one hand on her I swear I'll..." Ed began.

"You'll kill me!? Go ahead, but remember that it was your people that fired the first shot!"

Ed's eyes narrowed.

Scar turned back to Winry. My eyes grew wide and my heart pounded as my energy came back. Hands clenched in fists, I readied myself for what ever action would have to be taken.

'You can't have her!' I thought angrily as I glared at the Ishbalan. 'She's the only girl friend I've ever had and I'm not about to let you take that from me!'

"If you're not going to shoot then do as your friends tell you," Scar growled. "You're in the way!"

The moment he moved I sprang into action. I started running and jumped over his back. My hand grabbed his outstretched arm and I used it to swing down in front of Winry.

His tan hand was centimeters away from my face but I didn't care. Ed and Al watched me with wide eyes as I turned myself into a human shield.

The world froze and no one moved. I seethed in rage at the hand before me.

Al was the first to get his head back on as he clapped his hands and hit the ground. Scar's eyes grew wide as he dodged the attack.

The brothers turned to me, too many emotions hanging in the air for any one to truly figure out how they would react.

Ed was the first. "Are you insane!?" he screamed. "If you have a death wish then you're doing a damn good job of trying!"

My eye twitched as I leaned forward slightly. "And that was your plan!? Standing there like a bump on a log!? Get over the goddamn shock and go after Scar! I'll take care of her!"

I would have gotten up to yell in his face, but leaving Winry on her own didn't seem like a good idea.

Ed looked beyond pissed off as he reluctantly ran after today's bad guy.

Once the guys were out of sight I turned around to Winry. Her whole body was shaking at this point and her face was dripping with tears.

Taking her hands in mine, I gently pried the gun from her fingers.

"Come on Win, let go," I ushered. Her fingers went limp and the gun fell to the ground.

"I couldn't do it," she whispered as I held her hands. "You saw me. I could have killed him but I couldn't do it."

I scoffed. "Of course not. You may have a way with a wrench, but you could never kill someone."

She continued shaking as she looked up at me, sadness swimming in her blue eyes. "But he killed my parents..."

"That doesn't matter," I interrupted. "You were meant to save lives, not take them. Just look at Ed. I wasn't there but I know that you saved him and then you gave him and arm and a leg. You helped me, a total stranger, get back on my feet a while back. That's just who you are."

Her tears came flooding to the surface as she cried on my shoulder, just as she'd done when we'd found out Hughes died.

I wrapped my arms around her as she sobbed.

A couple of MPs eventually found us. I was reluctant to leave her behind, but she insisted that Ed and Al needed my help.

I nodded and turned to one of the MPs. "Where do you plan on taking her?"

"Central Command is the safest place for her right now," he answered formally.

Nodding again, I said, "Can you take her to my commanding officer, Colonel Baker? I'd prefer knowing that she's with someone I trust and he shouldn't mind."

The MP nodded and saluted me. The uncomfortable feeling came back.

Ignoring it, I kneeled down to Winry and said, "I'll bring the guys and come over a little later. Baker is a little off, but he's one of the good guys. Don't do anything you'll regret."

Winry smirked. "Weird how someone younger than me is telling me what to do," she stated.

"You're only a few months older," I retorted with a frown.

Her smirk faded into a calm smile. Tears still dripped down her cheeks now and then, but she was almost back to normal. This brought on a sense of comfort as I followed the path of destruction before me. Hopefully I'd be able to find the guys and Scar before anything worse happened.

**A/N: I am SOOOOO sorry that this chapter came in late. I normally type non-stop over the weekends, but instead of typing I was playing Guild Wars 2 and doing chores. I'm sorry I'm a dork, but until after Christmas I can only play on the weekends. I swear it won't eat into my writing time ever again. **

**RPGs aside for the moment, my best friend Lexi has demanded that I edit some chapters of this. I don't like going over crap, but I need a blonde and she's my favorite and I need to keep her happy. I've done chapter 1 and it should be up soon, but don't expect too many edits until 2013. (THE WORLD IS NOT GOING TO END, SO ACCEPT IT!) **

**Until we meet again next week, stay soft and if you go insane just think of anime ;)**


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: I'm so sorry I didn't update sooner! My new laptop killed this chapter off when I tried saving it so I had to go back and rewrite it. I've also been working on FBN so that ate into my time... But on the bright side I discovered that Myra's trick has scientific evidence behind it! I had no clue that you could use radioactivity to change the elements of atoms! Ever since 8****th**** grade I've thought that if you take away a couple protons or neutrons from an atom you can change that element into something else. (Suck it Ms. Dugan! You really can change elements!) **

**Well there's the rant that just proves how big a nerd I am :) **

•

I mentally face palmed at the sight of everything.

'Those guys just can't seem to keep the destruction levels to a minimum,' I thought, jumping over yet another transmuted wall. My breathing was jagged as I kept going. The adrenaline rush had started to wear off again, which had me thoroughly pissed.

I finally found them in an old train yard, the both of them still fighting Scar. After clapping my hands, I hit the ground and tried forming a box around him. I cursed when he broke through.

"Damn it," I swore, watching as red electricity crackled. 'If I could change the elements on that great a scale I could have him trapped!'

He stepped out of the dust and started towards Ed and Al.

A loud voice caused all of us to look at the nearby water tower. My jaw dropped when I saw the fat homunculus coming down towards us.

"I found you!" he called out as he landed. "The Ishvalan I didn't eat!"

Scar turned around and his eyes grew wide. "Not you again," he growled.

Still in shock from seeing the homunculus, I didn't think about how dangerous he was.

Madness glinted in Gluttony's beady eyes as he started for Scar. He landed with a loud "thump" that shook the ground. Scar seemed to panic as he reached out. The red light glowed as he deconstructed the insides of the homunculus.

I slumped over at the fact that Gluttony kept going at him, red electricity of his own glinting.

'Something tells me that won't work,' I thought, exasperated at Scar's attempt to get rid of his nuisance.

Gluttony crushed Scar against a wall. He was pushed back and the guys attacked.

More familiar faces started popping up everywhere. Ling came up from a man hole with his sword in his mouth and a grenade in his hand. For some reason he wasn't wearing his vest/shirt thing.

"It's Ling!" Al called out when he saw him.

"Took you long enough!" Ed shouted.

I was still trying to grasp the fact that the plan worked, and then someone else had to come by and confuse me.

Ling jumped on top of Gluttony and forced the grenade down his throat. A couple seconds later he exploded, bits and pieces of him flying everywhere. My stomach lurched at the sight but I pulled myself together quickly.

"That's disgusting," I commented. No one paid any attention as the homunculus started to regenerate.

Ling turned to Ed and said, "Get me a strong cable!"

Ed nodded and turned to the train tracks. He clapped his hands and touched the rails. They morphed into a cable. He passed it to Ling.

I stayed off to the side and watched as he wrapped it around Gluttony. The homunculus continued to regenerate but ended up trapped in the metal cage Ling made.

I heard a squeal as a convertible car started to come by. It stopped beside us and I noticed the blonde woman driving. A light went off in my head when I saw her.

"Isn't that..."

I was cut off by her gun's shooting at Scar. One of her shots met his leg and I backed up as he fell to the ground. Even though I knew full well she couldn't hit me where I stood, the Lieutenant was still a pretty scary person.

'Yup, that's Hawkeye,' I thought nervously as I looked from Scar to her.

"Put him in!" she called to Ling. "We're getting out of here!"

I watched as Ling tossed Gluttony into the back seat of the car. He got in with her and the boys seemed to finally realize who she was.

I snorted a laugh at their surprised reactions. 'You two are hopeless,' I thought at them.

She started up the car and the guys finally snapped out of their shock.

"Hey wait, Lieutenant…" Ed started.

Hawkeye put a finger up to her mouth as if to say "Shut up or I'll shoot you too."

The blonde closed his mouth as she drove away with Ling and the tied up Gluttony.

"Wait!" Al called. Ed put an arm out to stop him from speaking.

"The MPs are watching," he warned. "Just pretend that you don't know her."

As if on cue, a whole group of military police officers came marching from the other side of the train yard. Al looked down at his brother and I could almost imagine the expression he would have had on his face.

Knowing what Al was thinking, Ed said, "The Colonel may be a creep but at least we can trust him."

I raised an eyebrow at this. 'Sure, trusting a creep sounds like a great idea,' I thought sarcastically. 'While we're at it, how about we trust the homunculi?'

Ed kept going as he looked over at Scar. "We've got something else to worry about right now."

Like the idiot he was, he ran straight to the enemy. Getting into my fighting stance, I watched as Ed punched the man in the face with his automail hand. Scar narrowed his eyes at him and swung for the blonde. Ed jumped out of the way and over to the railroad.

Taking my turn, I clapped my hands and tried to trap the Ishvalan again. I closed my eyes and focused all my energy on shifting the very atoms of the rock, in hope that it would keep him stuck for at least a few moments.

The blue electricity continued to crackle as I opened one eye to inspect my work. Not impressed with my own work, I put more of my energy into it.

'Come on little buddy!' I thought. 'You know you can do this!'

After letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding, I released my hold on the ground and sat back on the ground. My breathing was uneven and raspy, but it was worth it to see how hard it was for Scar to get out. I was able to buy Ed and Al some time to prepare themselves.

An explosion of red electricity burst from the box I'd made and Scar stepped out. I prepared myself for a fight as I got on my feet, but then the unexpected happened.

My eyes grew wide at the sight of a little girl kicking Al to the ground. She was dressed in pink and had what looked like a baby panda on her shoulder.

.

.

.

'It's that little kid I crashed into at the train station!' I thought as she kicked Ed down next.

There was an evil look on her face as she got a running start for me. I held a hand out and caught her by the foot as she tried to get me down as well. She frowned as I pushed her away.

The kid kept at it, trying to down me but every time she jumped I blocked her. She eventually gave up and went to stand by Scar.

"Are these people giving you trouble, servant?" she asked Scar.

I was slightly taken aback by this and snorted a laugh. "Servant?"

She pointed a finger at the three of us. "This is the servant of the man who saved my life!" she declared. I raised an eyebrow as she turned her attention to the beat up Ed. "You had better leave him alone, you puny little boy!"

This got Ed back up. "WHO YOU CALLIN PUNY!?" he exploded.

I face palmed at his reaction as the MPs circled around the kid and Scar.

"Get away from him!" one of them called to the kid. "It's dangerous!"

She narrowed her eyes at the ring of officers and started talking to herself. "Looks like we're outnumbered," she said.

The next thing I knew, a set of five kunai flew above my head and hit a coal car. I was too focused on this to notice that she'd thrown another set in the other direction.

'What was that supposed to do?' I thought as I turned back to her. My eyes grew wide again as she pressed her hands against a transmutation circle. The coal car exploded and dust clouded over everything.

My eyes watered and I began coughing like everyone else.

"What kind of alchemy was that?" Ed said between his our coughs.

"She did it from that far away too!" Al exclaimed. For a brief moment I was envious of his not having a flesh and bones body.

•

It took a good while for the dust to finally clear. When it did, the guys and I were lead to an MP car so that we could be taken to Central Command. I sat in the front seat while Ed and Al sat in the back.

"Look what I found, Ed," Al said in his little boy voice. My curiosity took over as I turned around to look over the seat.

I raised an eyebrow when I saw the panda that the little girl had had with her.

Ed's eye twitched as he stared at it. His irritation levels had hit the maximum and he took it all out on his little brother.

"We're a little busy right now to be adopting panda bears, Al!" he shouted as his hand clenched into a fist.

Al backed up slightly as he defended himself. "I couldn't just leave her back there!"

Ed's volume got louder as he kept yelling. "First stray cats and now this!? How many animals can you fit into that armor of yours anyway!? Get rid of it!"

I snorted a laugh at the argument. 'These two sure are brothers all right.'

Al pulled back even more and it was his turn to yell. "How can you be so heartless!? Just look how sweet she is." Trying to prove his point, he scratched the panda's head. I raised an eyebrow again when it started gnawing on his finger, trying to get him to let go.

"…You realize that's not helping your case, right?" I asked Al as I inched away.

Al didn't say anything to me. He just laughed lightly at what the panda was doing. "It's okay," he said, a smile in his voice. "You're safe now."

The panda stopped what it was doing. A look of shock hit it as it we pulled up in front of the Command Center.

I shook my head. 'I'll never understand what it is with Al and small animals,' I thought as I got out.

The three of us were lead into the building. I knew exactly where Baker's office was so I wouldn't have needed the MP to lead us in. My eyebrow rose when we turned down the hall opposite where my commanding officer was located.

"Colonel Baker's office is the other way," I pointed out. "Where are you taking us?"

The MP didn't bother looking at me as he answered. "The Colonel is out on family business, so Miss Rockbell has been kept safe in a different part of the building."

I nodded before pushing my bangs out of the way. 'Just my luck,' I thought, mildly irritated with this. 'I was hoping I could talk to him while the guys took Winry back to the hotel. Taking everything that's happened he's the only member of the military I'm actually willing to trust right now. Colonel Creepy seems off to me and I don't trust his guard dogs. Hughes was okay, but he's gone…'

"Here you go," the MP said, interrupting my thoughts. He opened a door and I saw Winry sitting at a table, a depressed look on her face. She turned to look at the door and her eyes lit up at the sight of us.

I smiled as I walked in, only to have it vanish when I saw who was sitting across from her.

The guys were equally as shocked.

"Fuhrer Bradley," Ed started.

"What are you doing here?" Al finished.

The Fuhrer looked up from his cup and set it down on the table. He gestured to Winry. "I heard that a childhood friend of the Fullmetal Alchemist was being held in our care. As a friend of such an important member of the military, she deserves our every courtesy."

I narrowed my eyes at him from beneath my bangs, actually happy they were too short to fit into my ponytail for a change.

'Why don't I trust you?' I thought to myself.

Bradley stood up from his seat. "Well if you all will excuse me, I should be on my way." He bowed to Winry and she stood to return his gesture.

"Of course," she said.

The Fuhrer started to walk out but stopped in the door way.

"That's a good, honest friend you three have got," he said, including me in the head count. "Make sure you take good care of her."

I raised an eyebrow at him and watched as he left down the hall. Once he was out of sight I looked back in the room. Winry had walked over to us.

"Ed," she started to get his attention. Once he'd turned around she asked, "Can you tell me more about what happened to my parents?"

I looked up at her with a shocked expression on my face. Ed looked up at her with an expression I couldn't read, though part of it seemed determined.

I sat in silence the whole time, not bothering to say anything. I didn't know what I could say that would have helped at this point in time. I hadn't known her for as long, I didn't know how distressed she could get over certain topics, and all I seemed to be good for was being her shoulder to cry on. I couldn't be that much even now.

'I'm no better than a spare tire right now, but I guess that's all I can be,' I thought solemnly.

No one said anything when we had gotten in a car that would take us back to the hotel. I sat next to Winry and the brother's sat across from us. I was staring out my window, watching the city scenery pass past the car. I closed my eyes for a moment and sighed.

'I shouldn't have gone all out during the fight with Scar. I'm more worn out than I normally would be and it's too depressing in this car for me to feel like me. I don't like it.'

The depressed mood stayed with us as we walked into the hotel.

"Ah!" the man at the front desk said cheerfully. "Miss Rockbell, there's a call for you."

She seemed confused by this. "For me?" she thought out loud as she stepped over to take the phone.

I could hear loud muffled voices coming from the speaker on the phone. A soft smile spread across my face as Winry finally seemed happy.

She sniffled before speaking into the phone. "I'm coming home soon guys, just wait for me."

•••

Winry looked out of the train window and smiled lightly at her friends.

"Thanks for stopping me back there you guys," she said. "And Myra, thanks for sticking with me."

Myra returned the smile. "It's not like I was going to leave you there," she said. "We're friends now, right?"

Winry nodded before narrowing her eyes at Ed. "I expect you to take care of your automail," she said sternly.

He frowned. "What are you looking at me for? Myra could always bust her leg up."

She sighed in exasperation before looking back at him. "I trust her to be more careful than you."

Myra smirked at Ed. He glared at her as Winry turned her attention to Al.

"I'll send you some polishing oil when I can, okay?"

His metal head nodded in response.

She went quiet for a moment before speaking again. "Don't you guys dare die on me, okay?"

The threesome all nodded their heads. Myra put on a smile. "No worries, Win," she said. "I'm not going anywhere. Besides, you're the one who's going to be piled with orders."

Winry smiled again. "I guess you're right about that."

Her attention was pulled to Ed when he started speaking. The station bell's ringing drowned out his words.

The blonde girl frowned as she spoke. "I can't hear you!" she called, trying to sound louder than the bell.

When it finished ringing he started to walk away. Myra raised an eyebrow.

"Brother! Wait up!" Al called out. He turned back to the train and said, "Bye Winry," just before he ran after his older brother.

Winry frowned. "Sheesh," she grumbled. She stuck her torso out of the window and shouted. "Edward! What were you trying to tell me!?"

Ed stopped walking to turn around and face her. He pointed a finger and yelled, "The next time I make you cry will be when Al and I have our bodies back to normal, and you'll be crying out of sheer happiness! That's a promise!"

Winry's mouth fell open slightly before she started laughing. She sat back down as the bell rang once more.

Myra raised an eyebrow at her. "You still think he's got a thing for me?" she asked.

Winry smiled again. "Yes, yes I do."

The train pulled away and she laughed at the pink tint Myra's face now had. After shaking her head, the short brunette jogged over to the boys.

Winry's smile stayed as she sighed. 'We're like brother and sister. I told her that, yet she still doesn't believe me. Those two just need to confess to each other already.'

She laughed lightly at this before staring out at the scenery. Her mind was more focused on the fact that she was going to have so much work to do once she got back.

**A/N: Hi again! I spent hours rewriting this, so I hope you're happy. **

**Normally this is where Winry realizes her feeling for Ed, but I've made it so that her feelings are almost nonexistent. This is EdxOC so we need to make sure the wrench throwing demon doesn't get in the way.**

**(SIGH!) Well I am fricking tired! I've got a computer screen induced headache and not much is helping to get rid of it. Hope you guys are happy :) **

**So please review! I like to know how I'm doing. Oh yeah! I've got the edited versions of chapters 2-4 up now. That's all. Stay soft!**


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: So I could either come up with a lie about why this is late, or I could tell you the truth and end up stuck in another imaginary cage (glares at elysenjazz). **

**(Sigh) I was enjoying the week I have away from my sister by playing Guild Wars. I didn't give this much thought until yesterday. I spent a few hours on it yesterday and I hope you enjoy the extra length :)**

•

The sunset had painted the city in hues of gold and orange. It was a strange sight to see and I was momentarily freaked out because of the close resemblance to the Central Truth showed me.

I stuffed my hands into my pockets once I was over the shock. I sighed as the guys and I walked away from the train station. 'Looks like I'm the only girl again,' I thought, looking at them from the corner of my eye.

I jumped back from out of the street when a car stopped in front of us. I glared at it as the window rolled down. When I saw it was Mustang I lost my interest.

"Oh, it's just you," I said flatly. This earned me a glare from Colonel Useless-When-Wet.

"What are you doing here Colonel?" Ed asked.

Mustang didn't answer him. "Get in the car," he said.

My eyebrow rose at this. "It may just be me, but it doesn't seem possible for the three of us to fit in there," I commented, crossing my arms over my chest as I did so. This car wasn't one of the military's, so the back seat was smaller by a lot.

As if knowing how to irritate us, Colonel Creepy said, "Well you and Fullmetal are both pretty small so…"

My eye twitched at this comment as Ed exploded into a rant. Mustang didn't think anything of it and kept on talking. "… I figured you guys could all get in. I need to talk to you all but I also have to go speak to someone first."

Mustang had to be positively insane, but because he was of higher rank I had to follow his orders like the guys.

After we'd managed to pile into the backseat somewhat comfortably, 'somewhat' being an overstatement, the Colonel drove to a house that was about ten minutes away. I sat there like the irritable teenager I was with my arms folded over my chest when he got out.

'Sure, just leave us like this,' I thought bitterly before blowing my bangs away from my face.

My eyes grew wide as I found myself crushed between the guys and the door. Ed and Al had apparently decided they wanted a better look at whatever Colonel Creepy was doing.

With Al unintentionally pushing Ed and me closer together it became difficult to breathe. Ed's elbow was digging into my ribcage and with Al's large metal body keeping us in that position. Annoyed with the situation, I gritted my teeth before finally exploding.

"We were already too close for comfort!" I choked out, causing Ed to look down at me. The slight movements that he took to do so only caused his elbow to put more pressure on my diaphragm. I made a low sound in the back of my throat before going on. "Who's the idiot that thought this would be a good idea!?"

Al backed up a few centimeters, allowing Ed to move away and for me to be able to breathe.

"Sorry about that Myra," Al said nervously.

I huffed before looking up at him. "It's okay," I said calmly. "That fight with Scar wore me out, so I'm kinda irritated. I used up a lot of energy buying you guys time with that trap."

Both he and Al got back in their original positions as Colonel Creepy and some other guy got into the car. No one said anything as we drove to the next place; an old house that sat just outside of Central.

•••

The threesome had met up with Ling soon after they'd gotten inside the house. Dr. Knox was helping Lan Fan in a room on the other side.

Myra sat on the floor with her legs pulled up to her chest and head lowered while the brothers stood beside Ling. The Xingese prince had bandages wrapped around one of his wrists and his torso.

"Sorry about…" Ed started.

Myra looked up at the boys when Ling interrupted him. "Don't apologize," he said, voice hard. "I'm the one who suggested this, remember?" His tone became somewhat softer as he continued. "We both had something to gain so it made sense at the time. When I began this search for immortality I knew that I would have to be able to make certain sacrifices. I just didn't think that this would be one of them."

His bandaged hand clenched into a fist. "I wasn't ready for this but Lan Fan was. She made the decision that I was too weak to make."

Ed noticed the evil glare in Myra's eyes as she stood up. It was one that he'd seen plenty of times before and made his head hurt just by looking at her.

The violet eyed alchemist clenched her own fist and planted it hard against the back of Ling's head. When she pulled back he looked up at her, shocked.

"What kind of weakness is that!?" she growled at him. "Not wanting to leave someone behind does not show weakness. If anything it shows some kind of strength. You're trying to become the emperor, right? Then you should be loyal to those who stand beside you now, because you will always have enemies that seek to kill you once you take that position!"

"Myra," Ed said in a hard tone, trying to get her to stop talking. She turned her glare on him and he froze.

"No!" she said fiercely, holding her ground against her gold eyed friend. "I won't stop! I'm tired of you guys always thinking that you're not good or strong enough!" She shook slightly as she shook. "It's so goddamn annoying! Do any of you even hear yourselves!? Yea, Lan Fan lost an arm but it was her own decision. Just be glad nothing worse happened and move on. We all made it out alive and that's what matters right now."

Ed met her glare once again and saw a trace of sadness in her violet eyes. She turned her head away and hid her face beneath her bangs.

"I need to get out of here," she said softly before passing by him.

They all watched as she left the room they were in to go outside. Even after she was long gone they were unsure of how to react.

•

A chill ran down my spine as a breeze blew across the back of my neck. I pulled my coat closed and gripped the ends of my sleeves. As I pulled my legs to my chest I caught sight of the distant city lights. Memories of the visions came back to me for the first time in a while.

'If our main enemy gets his wish then we'll all be dead. It doesn't matter what has happened, because that's all in the past. I need to keep the future in mind now and keep it from coming true. Still not sure how, but I'll figure it out eventually.'

With a sigh I dropped my forehead to my knees and closed my eyes. 'Truth, you're an ass,' I thought solemnly. 'You gave me all these damn clues but I still don't know how to stop these things.'

"_So the little alchemist wants to talk again?"_ his voice said in my head.

My eyes snapped open and grew wide. "Oh god, not again."

His evil laugh sounded in my head. _"I never said that I wouldn't talk to you, only that I wouldn't bring you to me again. You remember, yes?"_

I scowled. "Go to hell you sick bastard."

"_Well that's rude of you to say,"_ Truth complained. _"You might like to know that I've been keeping my eye on you and noticed that you want to break the bond between you and your older brother._

I froze completely when he mentioned this. "What about that? It's not like it has anything to do with you."

"_That's where you're wrong, alchemist. I can easily break the bond, only I have nothing to give you in return right now."_

The corners of my mouth turned down into a frown when he said this, more out of confusion than in anger. "What do you mean 'give me'?"

"_The loss of the bond would require something for me to give you in return. Equivalent exchange as you would put it,"_ he said.

"So because breaking the bond is considered a loss on my part, I need something in exchange for that loss," I said, dumbing down what he'd said.

"_Yes, exactly,"_ he said. _"I have an idea of what I could give, but until the time comes it's insignificant."_

My eyes narrowed as if he were standing before me. "So you got into my head to say 'Oh sure, I could break the bond, but I'm not letting you know when or how'?"

"_My pet needed something to chew on, so I gave you this bit of information."_

My eye twitched. "First toy and now pet? Do I really need a stupid nickname like that?"

I could almost see his smug grin._"I can call you whatever I like, because there's nothing you can do about it."_

I raised an eyebrow at this. "You sound like a teenager."

"_I am one and I am all. Therefore I am also you and have the ability to react like you."_

"Well can you go away?" I questioned as I relaxed slightly. "You're making me uncomfortable and it'll be weird if someone sees me talking to myself."

"_You're aware that I can hear your thoughts, so there was never a need for you to speak out loud."_

My eye twitched again. "I don't like being locked in my own head."

He ignored this comment as he kept going. _"Speaking of thoughts, among yours are those of the Edward boy."_

I was taken aback with this and blood rushed to my face. "W-what brought that up!?" I exclaimed, making sure my voice didn't get too loud.

Truth laughed like he was having the time of his life. _"Messing with your head is just another way I stay entertained. You happen to have a direct connection to me, so you are the most entertaining."_

Irritated, I told him, "Just get the hell out of my head. You're starting to piss me off."

"_Very well,"_ he said. It sounded like he was giving up until he kept going. _"I'll see you soon, little alchemist."_

Not wanting to know what he meant by that, I stopped responding to him and stood up to go back inside. When I opened the door I saw Hawkeye coming out and I got nervous.

"Uh, hello Lieutenant," I said.

She nodded a response. "They're in the back room," she answered.

"Okay…" I said. She stepped aside for me to go in and I nodded to her as I did so.

Once she was out and the door was closed I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. 'She's too freaking scary!' I thought as I trembled. After stopping to blow the hair out of my face, I started making my way to the back of the building.

I walked in to find Ling and Colonel Creepy at each other's throats, quite literally seeing as the annoying prince had my least favorite person by the collar of his shirt.

My eyebrow rose at the sight. "Am I interrupting something?" I questioned.

I was completely ignored as Ed and Al joined in the argument. Not caring, I stepped around the lot of them to see the tied up Gluttony sitting on the floor.

'I almost feel sorry for him. He's kind cute in a creepy sense of the word,' I thought as I looked at the fat homunculus.

Amidst the commotion I could hear the doctor say, "Well I'm going home. Good luck Mustang."

I heard the metal cable around Gluttony creak. He started to struggle and move around. I took a step back when he started mumbling to himself.

"Roy Mustang… Killed Lust… Mustang…" he growled as the cable creaked again.

'Al told us that the Colonel had killed one of the homunculi… Wait! Lust is the one Gluttony was always following around…" My eyes grew wide with this realization. 'Uh oh, this can't end well.'

"Uh, Colonel Useless," I said to get their attention. "I think our little friend's got a bone to pick with you."

His eye had twitched at my nickname for him, but everyone gaped when they saw Gluttony stretching out the cable so he could return to his normal size.

"Roy Mustang!" he screeched. The cable started to snap as his stomach grew. My already wide eyes only grew bigger when I saw his ribs poke through his skin. It reminded me of a mouth with pointed teeth. They pulled to the sides and opened to reveal a large eye with a light violet iris.

I backed up into the group, my heart pounding. "Just so you know, if he comes after us I'm tripping you guys," I commented.

"Good to know," Ed said, his tone annoyed.

I glanced up at him. "It's simple survival; you don't have to run fast, you just have to run faster than the other guy."

The fat homunculus roared again, pulling my attention the fact there was a crackling of red electricity around him. The sparks branched out and a massive force rushed through the room he was in.

I couldn't believe what I'd seen once the force released. There was a massive hole in the wall leading outside.

"Did he just…" I trailed off, my mouth hanging open slightly.

'He's eating everything in sight…'

Gluttony roared again, the sound shaking the building.

"Colonel!" Hawkeye's voice called. I looked out the hole and saw her running over.

"Stay back!" Mustang shouted.

The homunculus turned towards her and the force came back. When it was gone the building began shaking even more. Bits of wood fell down and I braced myself for what I knew was going to happen.

The walls gave in and the ceiling fell, bringing with it more of the house. I held my breath as I was crushed and waited for something horrible to happen. A wall pushed me forward and I was buried under wood planks and debris that had fallen from the floor above us.

I nearly exploded from relief when I found I was still alive moments later, although there was something crushing me.

The wood was pushed away and I realized that Ed was on top of me. He got up and I finally saw that Hawkeye had a gun pointed in our direction and another at Gluttony.

"Don't provoke him!" the Colonel shouted. "I'm the one he wants!"

I pushed myself up and staggered to my feet. I hopped over a pile of wood and ran into the yard. The brothers and Mustang did the same thing.

"What the hell is that?" I thought out loud, my breathing uneven from the fear I felt.

"Who cares at this point!?" Colonel Creepy answered. "Whatever that is, it needs to be eliminated."

I heard Al's head creak. "We worked so hard to trap him…"

"Survival is our top priority," the Colonel said as he pulled on a glove. There was a red transmutation circle on the back of the hand. "Besides, he knows our names and faces. You'd have to be crazy to not get rid of him."

Colonel Creepy snapped with his gloved hand and I watched as a spark shot from his fingertips towards Gluttony. A burst of flames ignited and my eyes grew wide.

The homunculus let out a loud roar in pain. The eye in his stomach widened and the flames began moving into it. In mere seconds Gluttony had sucked in the flames.

I snorted a laugh at the Colonel's epic fail while the guys stared in astonishment.

"He swallowed it?" Ed commented.

"This won't end well," I stated.

The teeth stretched out along with the red sparks this time. All four of us jumped out of the way and started running in the opposite direction.

"Well that worked!" Ed complained as he ran.

"Looks like your useless even when it's not raining Colonel!" I commented with an immature smile.

This hit an obvious nerve. "Shut up!" he retorted. "You think you have a better idea then go for it!"

"We could just leave you behind, Colonel!" Al chimed in. "You're the one he really wants!"

Colonel Useless seemed to ignore him as we approached a wooded area.

"Get in there and split up!" Colonel ordered us. Nodding, I picked up my pace so that I was ahead of them. I jumped over a bush and started running.

'This is ridiculous!' I thought as I kept going. 'If Baker didn't assign me as Ed's partner then I'd be doing regular military work instead of dealing with this insanity!'

When I came to the conclusion that I was an okay distance away, I slowed down to a stop. Not caring at all about what was going on; I sat down against a tree and focused on getting my heart rate down.

My neck gave and my head flopped forward. 'Today has been the most exhausting day of my life. Even the day when I challenged every boy my age in town to a fight still wasn't this bad.'

The sound of Gluttony's roar pulled me back into reality. I got up to my feet as a wave of pressure forced me into a tree. When I looked up I saw the homunculus standing almost 10 meters away from me.

My eyes grew wide when they met with the one in his stomach. A quick burst of bad memories flashed through my head before something grabbed the back of my coat and pulled me behind a bush.

Pissed off, I rubbed my now sore neck and turned around. A pair of golden eyes met mine and I realized who it was.

"What are you doing?" I hissed at him.

"Saving your ass," Ed remarked. I narrowed my eyes at him before he kept going on. "The Colonel has a plan so I came to get you."

'I'm afraid to know what Colonel Useless came up with,' I thought. The both of us stood and I followed him out of the woods. Back towards the house I saw a bigger car. Hawkeye was giving the Colonel support as they made their way to the car. Ling and Al were standing to the side.

"So what exactly was the plan?" I asked Ed. I jumped slightly when I heard a crash back in the woods.

He looked at me as we walked to the car. "We made a dummy that looked like Mustang to distract Gluttony long enough for us to get out."

I nodded as a loud roar sounded across the area. "Mustang!" the homunculus screeched.

Smiling to myself, I glanced over my shoulder. 'I guess it worked,' I thought before directing my attention back to the others.

Al looked at us when we met up and I could sense his relief over the fact his brother was still alive.

Gluttony screamed again, followed by more and more crashes.

"Looks like he took the bait," Mustang thought out loud.

A scowl showed up on Ed's face. "Yeah, now get in the car you idiot," he said as he pushed the Colonel in.

"Lieutenant, take care of Lan Fan," Al said. I glanced up at him before turning back to Mustang.

He was pissed off as he yelled at Ed. "You expect me to go and leave this to you Elric!?"

"If you stay here you'll just get in the way!" Ed shouted in his face.

"Yeah, leave!" Al yelled to back his brother up.

I snorted a laugh when even Hawkeye agreed with them. "Sorry sir, but they're right. You won't be of any use here."

I laughed, unintentionally bringing some attention to myself. "See? The nickname 'Colonel Useless' fits," I said. Mustang fell into a certain state of depression that reminded me of when Ed called himself 'short'.

"You need to go and do your job anyway," Ed continued. I directed my focus on him. "Our Fuhrer is a homunculus. Don't you think you should do something about that?"

This snapped the Colonel back into reality.

"Fuhrer Bradley is a homunculus?" Hawkeye asked, a look of shock adorned on her face.

"Let's talk about it later!" the doctor intervened before turning to the four of us. "Now get in the car."

My eyebrow shot up and I looked at the guys. The brothers shared knowing looks and Ed looked over at me. My facial expression softened and I could tell what he was thinking.

"The car's too full to fit all of us," he said. "You guys go on ahead."

This shocked the grown-ups. Dr. Knox was the first to react. "You dumbasses!"

Hawkeye was next. "You don't really think that we're going to let a group of children fight this battle for us!?"

My eye twitched when she called me a child, but I didn't have time to react before Ling started talking.

"With your military's senior staff involved in all of this you're going to need all the help you can get," he stated.

Next was Ed's turn to speak. "We should try and get all the information we can out of this Gluttony guy, right?"

Nodding to this, I spoke up. "We put in all the effort to catch this guy, so you'd have to be pretty stupid to let this opportunity get away, you know?"

"We'll stay here and find out what we can," Al said, continuing on what we all had to say. "And I don't think it matters that we're children."

Ed nodded in agreement. "This was our mission to begin with so we're going to see it through to the end. We appreciate you guys helping us up until now though."

A clicking sound caused my attention to shift over to the Lieutenant. My eyes grew wide when I saw the she was holding a gun out to Ed. His previously somewhat-pleased expression was replaced with one that looked almost like fear.

"Here Edward," Hawkeye said to him. "I want you to take this. You do know how to use it, yes?"

My hands clenched into fists as I swallowed my fear down. 'Better him than me. I'd much rather fight hand-to-hand.'

Al spoke up and I looked at him again. "That's a weapon for killing people," he said.

Hawkeye's expression didn't change. "Yes, but it's also a weapon for protecting your lives."

Ed's expression shifted from fear to determination. "I'll take it," he said as he took the gun. The Lieutenant nodded.

And explosion caused us all to turn around in the direction of the woods. Red electricity shot up into the sky in various areas. I prepared myself for a fight and put one foot forward. Ed and Al began running forward and I followed close behind them. Ling had to run faster to catch up.

Once in the woods we stopped behind a group of bushes.

When Gluttony was close enough I could see that his eyes were glowing red. A chill ran down my spine as I looked at him.

"Where's Roy Mustang!?" the homunculus screeched. "You killed my Lust! How dare you!?"

The red electricity sparked again and I could feel that I was being pushed back by whatever force was being released by the eye on his stomach. I swallowed in fear again, shaking at this point.

"I know that we decided to stay behind, but he's really creeping me out," Ed complained. He was just as scared as the rest of us.

"How are we supposed to catch him?" Al asked no one in particular.

I shook my head in response. "No clue. If he was in his softer form then this could be a piece of cake," I said.

Sensing movement, I looked over at Ling. His already squinty eyes were narrowed even further as he drew his sword. I frowned and turned to see what it was he was looking at. My eyebrow rose when I saw a black dog standing at the top of the hill.

"What the hell?" I thought out loud.

"Stop it Gluttony!" the dog called out. The voice was oddly familiar.

I narrowed my eyes. 'That voice…"

"A talking dog?" Ed said, his tone showing how confused he was.

The dog looked down at him and said, "Hey, long time no see Fullmetal Pipsqueak."

Sparks of electricity crackled as the dog morphed into the shape of the homunculus Envy.

I felt like laughing at the nickname but I knew that it wouldn't help matters at this point.

Ed had snapped as he went in full out kill mode. "I told you before, don't call me short!" he screeched. He charged at Envy and tried to kick him in the face, but ended up missing as homunculus dodged his attacks.

I held my head in shame. 'And this is the guy that I apparently like…' I thought before feeling my face heat up.

"Hey come on kid!" Envy called, knocking me back into reality. "I'm just here to get Gluttony back, nothing more! I don't want to fight you Pip-…" He was cut short by Ed's attacking again.

"That's five times!" Ed screamed.

"What are you talking about!?" Envy questioned.

"You called me that twice here and three times back at the Fifth Lab!" he went on. "Don't tell me you forgot!"

I face palmed at this. 'I don't get this bad about my height, do I?'

"Impressive memory you've got there," Envy replied sarcastically. He jumped out of the tree he was in and down to Gluttony. "You're becoming bothersome," he said to him.

The fat homunculus hurried over to Envy, "Colonel Mustang was here!" he said hungrily. "I must avenge Lust! Swallow him!"

"You can't eat the Colonel," Envy said. A look of disappointment fell over Gluttony's face. "You can't eat the Elrics or the Loken girl either."

"But why not!?" he begged.

Ling stepped over from around Al. "I've sensed this presence before," he said. He narrowed his eyes as he continued. "How many people are there inside of you, homunculus?"

Envy narrowed his eyes in turn. "I remember you; you're that kid who crossed swords with Wrath." He patted Gluttony on the head and said easily, "You can eat him."

The next thing I knew Ling was being chased by the starving Gluttony.

"I guess they really can't do anything to us," Al stated.

"How about we have some fun with this?" Ed asked, an evil smile creeping up on his face.

My eyebrow rose. "What are you planning?"

He clapped his hands and hit the ground. A massive wall came between Ling and Gluttony.

"Ling!" he shouted. "You and Myra take care of Envy! We'll get the other one!"

Finally getting it, I clapped to ground and armed myself with my favorite weapon. I came at Envy from my side while Ling took control of the other. Envy ending up dancing between our two blades, trying to dodge us.

He scowled at me before going after Ling. He shifted his arm into the form of a snake and coiled it around Ling's arm and neck.

"I can't do anything to the little girl, but I can do what I like with you. So would you rather be bitten to death or sliced into little pieces?" he said as his other arm shifted into a blade.

My eye twitched and I came from behind to slice his arms off. "I'm not a little girl!" I shrieked as I proceeded to swing at him like a madman.

The guys broke through the wall and over onto our side, distracting me from my rage.

"Stay out of the way guys!" Ling shouted.

Envy got up and started for him again but was stopped when Ling cut off his leg. The idiot prince was about to stab Envy in the chest but was stopped when he shape shifted into Lan Fan.

My eyes grew wide at the dirty trick that was played. Envy grinned as he called out, "Go for it Gluttony!"

I reacted without thinking. "Stop!" I screamed as I hurried over to Ling.

"Myra!" Ed's voice shouted. "No!"

His arms wrapped themselves around me as I was pulled into the darkness. The last thing I saw was a flurry of bright red sparks and a blinding white light.

**A/N: Mwahahaha! The evil cliffy has returned! At almost 5000 words this is my longest chapter yet! And I got here with good bits of action and not as many conversations. **

**So just a notice, my finals for this semester are next week, which means I'll be pretty busy. I've decided that I'm actually going to study (something I never do) and two weeks from now I'll be taking AP Human Geography. I haven't even started putting the summer project together and it's due the first day, so that'll also be keeping me busy. (Sigh) I hate being good at school; I end up taking harder classes :p**

**Well I'll leave you to wonder what happens next. Until I update again, stay soft :3**


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N: I hate school so much. Last weekend I had to write TWO! freaking essays and I didn't have my meds so it took me forever. I got so overwhelmed and stressed out and I couldn't focus so I was a nervous wreck Saturday night when my computer crashed. Truth sent the "blue screen of death" upon me -_- **_**That **_**was a lot of fun (insert pissed off eye roll here and then a sigh). How about we move on? Here, have chapter 36 while I get myself something to drink.**

•

'So I guess this is what it's like to be dead,' I thought. I was surrounded by a certain darkness that chilled me and it was with this reaction that I realized I was still alive.

My closed tight eyes snapped open and I looked up to see nothing. Frowning, I pushed myself up and noticed that my clothes were sticking to me.

"What the hell?" I thought out loud. I rubbed at my coat and brought my sleeve to my face. I recognized the smell.

'Is this blood!?' I began panicking and shook out my arms. 'It can't be mine, if I'd lost this much I'd be dead for sure!'

As my eyes adjusted I started to make out various shapes. I could see columns and broken up houses. My eyebrow rose as I kept looking around. A light was shining in the distance and I sighed in relief as I started walking towards it. "Hello!?" I called out. "Is anyone out there!?"

The memory of Gluttony swallowing me caused me to be confused to extremes. 'I tackled Ling to try and keep him from getting eaten but then Ed tried to pull me back. I'm assuming we ended up in the same place, so where the hell are they?'

I huffed as I walked on. "Edward!" I called out. "Ling! Are you guys here too!?"

"Myra!?" came a distant response.

Excitement shot through me with the knowledge that I wasn't alone. I started running and I eventually caught sight of the blonde kid I hated when we first met.

A smile the size of the moon spread across my face. "I've never been happier to see someone in my life!" I said as I got closer. Once I caught up with him my confusion came back and the smile was replaced with a frown. "So do you know what happened?"

He shook his head. "No clue."

Still frowning, I looked around. "Where's Ling anyway? He's to blame for all this," I said as I crossed my arms. I regretted doing so because the blood just caused it to stick even more. I sighed before looking up at him. "And then you decided to go and play the hero. What was that all about anyway?"

"Did you really think that I would just stand off the side and watch as you got eaten?" he asked as he met my gaze. "You can't stand doing nothing and neither can I."

I would have said something back, but the sound of moving liquid caught my attention. The sight of that idiot prince was enough to send a mess of emotions through me.

"Ling!" Ed called out as he started for him. He stopped within seconds, confusing me further than before. "Wait. How do I know you're not Envy in disguise?"

"Oh come on!" he said, lowering the torch he'd been carrying. "Do you want me to recite the entire hotel room service menu from top to bottom?"

Ed narrowed his eyes. "I guess it really is Ling."

"Well how am I supposed to know one of you guys isn't Envy?" he retorted.

My eye twitched and I started for him. I brought my right leg up and kicked him in his side, knocking him easily to the ground. For someone a good deal of height taller than me, he was as easy to kick down as Ed, who'd flinched when I did so. It was as if he were remembering when I did the same thing to him back in Resembull.

"She's Myra all right," he said.

I wasn't done with this bastard prince. He still needed punishment. "You asshole!" I screamed at Ling as he stood back up. "You just stood there like you wanted Gluttony to eat you! What the hell was that!?"

"You really didn't have to use your automail leg for that you know," he said, ignoring what I'd just said.

I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists. "Would you rather have the other!? Fine!"

After kicking him down with my flesh leg, I smiled sadistically and folded my arms over each other again.

Once again my eye twitched as he blew me off and turned his attention back to Ed. "Well we know she's real so what about you, you little runt…"

I held my head in exasperation while Ed attempted to beat up the Xingese Idiot. "You just had to provoke him," I thought out loud.

Once Ed was done, he started asking Ling questions. "Do you have any idea as to where we are?" he questioned.

"No I don't," the prince responded. "The last thing I remember is Myra trying to push me out of the away before Gluttony swallowed us whole."

I frowned at this. "So you think that we're in his stomach? How could it be this big?"

"I don't know, but take a look," he said as he moved the torch towards one of the broken buildings.  
"It's part of the abandoned house we were previously at."

I blinked at his discovery. "Huh."

"And look at this," Ling said when he pointed his torch at something else that looked like a car.

"That's the Lieutenant's car," Ed commented.

The idiot prince nodded. "I'm guessing that this fire is from the Colonel's attack."

Remembering Colonel Useless's epic fail, I made a sound in the back of my throat that was supposed to be a laugh. Unfortunately it came out more like a choke. The guys turned to look at me with confused expressions. Rolling my eyes, I waved them off.

They carried on with what they were saying. "I guess that proves it," Ed said as he looked around. "But how the hell could Gluttony's stomach be so big?"

I shrugged. "Who knows?"

Ling started speaking again. "In any case I doubt this is a very pleasant place to be."

The blonde didn't seem to pay much attention as he focused on something behind me. I raised an eyebrow as he grabbed the torch and ran past me.

"What is it?" I asked, narrowing my eyes to focus on him. Realizing that wasn't going working, I walked over to the pile of dirt he was sitting on. When I saw what he was holding, I asked, "Is that Al's?"

He nodded. "It's just his hand, so I guess that means he didn't get swallowed like us." He narrowed his gold eyes at the hand. "He must be freaking out right now. If only there was some way to contact him…"

Almost afraid of the glare he was using on the hand, I backed up slightly. "What are you gonna do now?"

Ed didn't seem to hear me as he lifted Al's hand in the air and swung it around like a madman. "Conveniently awaken telepathic powers!" he screamed. "Elric brother telepathy!"

"Yeah, good luck with that…" Ling said calmly as he walked in the opposite direction while Ed continued rambling.

Eyes wide as saucers, my face had paled in astonishment. "He's a bigger moron than I thought…"

Once Ed was done with his psychotic attempts to talk to his little brother, the three of us continued walking. He'd tied a random cloth around Al's hand and carried it on his back.

"This place is like a wasteland of broken buildings and human remains," Ed commented as we moved on. I scrunched up my nose as we walked past a few skeletons. "But they're all from different time periods," he continued.

"I'm starting to think that there's no way out of here," Ling said as we kept going.

"Well aren't you ever the optimist," I scoffed sarcastically. The royal pain-in-the-ass narrowed his squinty eyes at me.

"If there's no way out, then I'll just make one," Ed declared as he clenched a determined fist.

"Oh really?" Ling asked. "Just how and where do you plan on doing that?"

He stopped walking and clapped his hands. He hit the ground we were standing on and the familiar blue light lit up the area around us.

I took a step back as the ground sank into a giant hole.

"Here," Ed said with a prideful smirk. He held a hand out to Ling. "Hand me one of the torches."

Frowning, the prince did as he was told. Ed dropped the torch down the hole and we all went silent. After a good few moments had passed I held my head in irritation.

"We should have heard it land by now," Ed grumbled.

After standing up, I put my hands on my hips and sighed. I looked off towards the distance for second before smiling at my idea. I pulled both of them to their feet and pointed. "There's gotta be a wall at the edge of this place."

The next thing I knew the three of us were running as fast as we could through the sea of blood, trying to find an end.

"No matter how big this place is," I huffed as I ran, "if we keep going straight we're gonna reach the edge!"

"There's gotta be an exit somewhere!" Ed screamed as he picked up his pace.

After God knows how long, we finally slowed down to a trudge, none of us having any energy left.

'Considering the situation we're in, that really wasn't the best thing to do,' I thought, to worn out to bother saying it out loud.

"You know this is getting really old," Ling commented, his voice weak. "Blood doesn't make for very good terrain."

"Yeah, I noticed," Ed said, his voice at the same level but in a pissed off tone. "And we're still not any closer to finding an exit."

"I'm starving to death," Ling complained.

Sighing before answering, I said, "I've got free room service at that hotel, so when we get back I'll let you guys stuff yourselves to no end."

I heard a splash and frowned. I turned around and saw the idiot price flopped over a random tree trunk.

"You spineless little jellyfish," I growled as I narrowed my eyes at him. "You can't not eat for more than an hour can you?"

"You're really giving up this soon?" Ed questioned as his voice gradually got louder. "Are you that pathetic? It's bad enough when you collapse in the streets, but here!? Come on, get up!"

Ling's voice sounded hoarse as he spoke. "Just go on without me…"

"Get the hell up you dumbass!" I screamed, causing him to look up at me. "I can't believe you! You have a whole clan of people relying on you and you're just going to give up and die!?"

His eyes opened slightly and met mine before he looked away. "Please go…"

I scoffed at him. "Fine," I remarked as I started to walk off. "Let's go Ed."

The blonde looked from me to Ling before following me.

My hands clenched into fists and I stopped to glance at the idiot prince again. "We're really leaving you Ling," I said.

He didn't even flinch…

Turning on my heel, I pointed a finger at him. "I said we're leaving you!" I said, my voice louder this time.

That idiot flat out ignored me…

I growled and stomped my foot. "Come on! Just get the hell up before I shoved you face first into all this blood!"

He didn't move a muscle…

"Get up you lazy shit!" I screamed before storming back over to him. I grabbed his collar and pulled him down. There was a fire in my eyes as I pulled Ling through the pool of blood.

"What happened to leaving me behind?" he questioned.

I scowled at this. "If I have to drag you along with us then I will. I don't plan on leaving either of you guys here to die. There're people waiting for Ed and me to come back, same as… Ack!"

A rock had caused me to trip and fall backward into the blood, where the level had gotten deeper than everywhere else.

"Dammit," I growled as I pushed myself up. After yanking my coat off and tying it around my waist, I grabbed his collar again. He seemed to get heavier with every step that I took.

The moment I saw the giant platform in the middle of the wreckage, I felt instant relief. Ed helped me pull Ling up onto it and when we were done I fell onto my back in a heap.

Struggling to catch my breath, I turned evil as I turned my head towards the one who got us in all of this. "You weigh a ton, you know that?"

"Do you realize how much smaller you are than me?" he asked.

My eye twitched when he said this, but at this point I was too irritated to even try and yell at him.

"I'm starving," Ling commented in a wimpy tone.

"When aren't you?" I retorted, my tone proving how pissed I was at this point.

The sound of movement dragged my attention towards Ed.

"You know," he said as he pulled off his left boot. "Leather goods are edible. And with all this blood around I could easily make an iron pot and get water. With the Colonel's flames we've got a way to cook it."

A look of disgust on my face, I sat up and raised an eyebrow at him. "You're going to eat your shoe?"

"Well I'm not seeing anything else to eat around here, so do you have a better idea?" he snapped.

Scoffing at this, I lied back down. He narrowed his eyes at me as I rested the back of my head in the palms of my hands.

"You guys have fun with that," I said as I closed my eyes. The sounds of the fire Ed had set up put me in a state of peacefulness. Not sleep, just peace.

•

Ed, Ling, and I were all splayed out on the platform. I'd only gotten up once to transmute a drink of water. Even after thoroughly separating everything that had been with it, it still tasted off.

"I'm sorry you guys," Ling said.

"What for?" Ed asked.

"He's the one who got us into this mess," I commented bluntly, my eyes still closed.

"No he's not," he said. My forehead furrowed and I opened my eyes to look over at him as he went on. "We got ourselves stuck here trying to help each other out."

Sighing, I closed my eyes again. "Well that's an interesting change of attitude," I thought out loud.

"I've been thinking and I realized that this place is a joke after what my teacher put me through," he said.

Izumi came instantly to mind and I remembered how she'd tried to kill me when we'd first met.

"I'll believe that," I said with a shudder.

"It just sucks that we have no idea where this place is, you know? But as long as we've still got our health we should be able to find a way out of here."

Opening one eye to look up him, I raised an eyebrow. "When did you become so optimistic?"

"It's not optimism, it's stubbornness," he replied as he sat up. "If I even think about giving up I've got Al and now you to keep me in check."

I snorted a laugh as I sat up. "Looks like you bother to listen to me after all," I said with a smile. He returned it before I something caused me to turn my head towards the dark nothingness. I could hear movement off in the distance. It was obvious Ling had picked up on something as well.

"What is it?" Ed asked us.

My eyes narrowed as I stood up and got in my fighting stance.

"There's something out there," Ling stated.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh really? I thought that we were standing up for the hell of it."

The sound got louder and I finally managed to focus on what was coming towards us.

'Is that…?'

"It's definitely Envy," Ling stated.

My eye twitched. His obvious remarks were finally pissing me off. "No shit!" I exclaimed as I got in his face. "Who the hell else would be here you dumbass!?"

"Oh great, it's you guys," the androgynous homunculi commented.

"Yea, good to see you too," I commented sarcastically, turning my attention to him.

"Please show us a way out of here!" Ed begged loudly, startling me.

"You're just going to run to the enemy for help!?" Ling questioned.

"If it means survival I'll be his best friend!"

My head hung in exasperation while the two bickered. "You idiots," I muttered under my breath.

"It doesn't matter, because there is no exit," Envy stated.

The caught our attention. I looked over at him and frowned.

The homunculus sat on a random stone and held his head in his hand. "This is quite the mess you've gotten into. I can't believe you got me swallowed."

A light went on in my head. "So this place really is Gluttony's stomach?"

"Well yes and no. It's a bit more complicated than that," he said. "You're an alchemist right? You should know what this place is."

I frowned as I thought back to everything that had gone on before this. The light flicked off when the painful memories came back. The eye that was on Gluttony's stomach…

'Violet, like my eyes but much lighter. Truth gave me my eyes so does that mean that was…'

"This place is nothing like the portal!" I said. Ed glanced over at me, his own memories resurfacing. "It isn't dark and full of blood like this place though. It's a blinding white. And if this was the portal we should have seen Truth by now. Damn bastard said…" I trailed off, remembering that I hadn't told the guys about my little conversation.

"He spoke to you again?" Ed questioned. I was frozen stiff when he said this.

Once I'd melted I rubbed the back of my neck. "Heh heh… well, uh…" I laughed nervously. "He started talking to me back at the safe house and said I'd be seeing him soon."

There was a look of irritation on Ed's face but Envy cut him off.

"So that's what the real place is like," he commented, ignoring what had gone on between Ed and me.

My eye brow rose. "What do you mean?"

"Gluttony is a failed experiment by our father. He was trying to create his own portal of Truth."

"Huh?" I said, somewhat confused by now.

"Despite how powerful our father is, he still couldn't create one. We're all trapped in a defective portal of Truth. This place exists somewhere between reality and Truth."

"In between?" Ed repeated, eyes wide as saucers.

"Yes," Envy continued. "And I can assure you that there is no way out. The only thing left for us to do is sit here and wait to die."

My breath caught in my throat and I staggered backwards slightly. "No…" I protested quietly, my voice quivering. "No… that can't be right. There's too much at stake for me to die here. Truth said…"

"_Are you really giving up so easily, little alchemist?_" he said, cutting me off. _"It's such a shame._"

I gritted my teeth when he spoke. "Get the hell out of my head you bastard!" I shrieked as I held my face in my hands. "If you really want me out of here so badly just do it yourself!"

"_I have no power there. If you wish to get out you'll have to do it yourself._"

"Fuck off you creep," I hissed at him. His voice went silent and I let out a sharp breath.

Seething, I brought my hands down and looked over at the others.

"Is she alright?" Envy asked the boys. "'Cause I'm pretty sure sane people don't talk to themselves."

I narrowed my eyes at him and folded my arms across my chest. "If you must know, God likes to come into my head and taunt me every so often."

"What did Truth say this time?" Ed asked.

I sat down on the platform with a huff and put my cheek in the palm of my hand. "That if we want to get out we have to do it on our own," I said.

"Didn't you hear me?" Envy questioned in a pissed off tone. "I already said that there's no way out."

My eyes narrowed.

"Who is this 'father' of yours anyway?" Ed demanded, leaving what had just happened to rest. "Why would he need to make his own portal of Truth? Is it King Bradley?"

Envy scoffed at this. "A weakling like Bradley being our father? Yeah right, he's just a homunculus like the rest of us."

"I told you so," Ling said.

Rolling my eyes at this, I noticed that Ed's hands were in tight fists. I frowned and looked up at him.

"The fifth lab, human lives sacrificed to make Philosopher's Stones, homunculi…" His voice was shaky as he went on. "If the Fuhrer is on your side than I'm guessing you guys are the ones responsible for what happened in Ishval."

A sadistic smile spread across Envy's face. "Oh Ishval, huh." He cackled loudly. "I couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable job."

My eyes grew wide. I hadn't lived in the East at the time, but I knew what horrors had gone down.

"You remember what had happened to start the war, right?" Envy went on.

Ed seemed slightly taken aback. "I heard that a military officer had accidentally shot an Ishvalan child."

The smile stayed on the homunculus's face. "Yup! And the one that pulled the trigger was none other than yours truly!"

My breathing came to a halt as air got stuck in my throat. I swallowed hard and narrowed my eyes at him.

"You don't understand how good that felt!" he gloated. "I ravaged the whole country with a single bullet! I mean talk about invigorating!"

Completely appalled with this, I watched in silence as Ed took a few steps forward to face Envy. He stopped when the homunculus kept speaking.

"You wanna know the best part!? The guy I disguised myself as was a moderate that opposed the military's involvement in Ishval! The guy couldn't come up with a plausible defense so they court marshaled him!"

Ed started for him again, this time not bothering to stop when there was more to be said.

"I'll never get over how easily manipulated humans are," Envy said. The sadistic look on his face only got bigger as he laughed maniacally.

"You were the one. You shot and killed an innocent child," Ed growled as he walked forward. "You destroyed my home town and drove out the Ishvalans. You're the one that turned Scar into a murderer! And you're the reason why Winry's parents were killed!"

The whole world seemed to go in slow motion the moment he said this. I was reminded of the look on Winry's face when she came face-to-face with Scar and I wasn't sure how to react.

Ed knew. He was beyond furious as he punched Envy in the face.

With things now going in real time I was able to process what had just happened. Envy's smile shifted into a scowl as he glanced over at Ed.

'He didn't even flinch,' I thought as I noticed the pissed expression on Envy's face.

Red electricity sparked and crackled around Envy and Ed. My mind snapped back into reality.

"Ed!" I shouted as I hopped down to him. "Move you idiot!"

Ling followed behind me. Ed turned and noticed us before backing away from the homunculus.

"If that's how you want it, fine," Envy growled as he stood up, the electricity not showing any signs of going away. "Seeing as we're all dead anyway, I'll show you guys something neat." His face started to shift around and his hair lengthened. "Consider it a parting gift."

His voice had changed. Instead of just one it sounded like dozens of different people were talking at once.

"Did either of you notice his foot prints back in the forest?" Ling asked.

I scoffed. "He was trying to kill you and all you noticed were his foot prints?"

"They were sunken in pretty deep, which is odd considering the size of his body."

"What are you saying?" I questioned.

"Just that he's probably a bit bigger than we thought."

The electricity glowed brighter as Envy grew taller and larger. My jaw dropped slightly the moment the light went out.

Envy got on all fours, the force displacing the blood from beneath us. It came up like a giant wave and swept me under. Once everything had calmed slightly I came up for air and began coughing. I wiped my mouth off and looked in horror at the thing before me.

The homunculus had grown at least a couple stories tall and was a giant green beast. My stomach dropped when I saw the bodies of countless people that were attached together to create him.

"How is that thing a homunculus!?" Ling exclaimed from several meters away.

Struggling to get on my feet I glowered at the thing before me. Every one of the faces had a voice and every one of them was speaking at the same time.

"Play with me…! Come here… help me… Save me…!"

I shuddered at the sight and clenched my hands into fists.

"Hell no," Ed's voice said to the faces. "Go play by yourself!" He jumped back from where he'd landed.

A warped laugh sounded louder than all of the others as Envy turned towards Ling. He reached out and tried to grab him, but the idiot prince dodged him as long as he could before he was caught and slammed into some of the ruins. His voice sharp, he cried out in pain and fell to a slump on the ground.

"Ling!" Ed cried out to him.

I turned towards the blonde. "Don't draw attention to yourself!" I screamed.

It was too late. Envy had already noticed us and his thick green tail came right for me. My breath was forced out of me the moment he made contact. I was sent flying and landed hard on my back into the blood again.

Coughing as I came up, I glared at the thing that was supposed to be Envy.

"Myra!" he shouted. I could hear footsteps as he and Ling came over to me.

The taste of blood in my mouth, I spat in disgust before wiping my mouth again.

"You okay?" Ed asked as he extended a hand to me. Nodding in response, I took it and stood up.

"I'm fine, but what are we going to do about that?" I questioned in reference to the thing that had started for us again.

"Can one of you make me a weapon?" Ling asked. I turned to face him while Ed had already clapped his hands. A blue light gleamed as he made a sword with a ridiculous skull on the end of the hilt.

"Here," Ed said as he tossed it to him.

Ling raised an eyebrow at the pointless decoration. "You have the tackiest sense of taste."

I snorted a laugh at his reaction before clapping my own hands and clapping.

"I personally think it looks pretty sharp," the blonde stated with a smirk. He had already transmuted his automail arm into a sword.

I raised an eyebrow as I armed myself with a spear. "Was that supposed to be a bad pun?"

He shrugged before turning back to Envy, who was only a couple meters away at most. The homunculus let out a creepy laugh and I tightened the grip I had on my weapon.

"Do either of you think we can take him?" I asked, my gaze on him not breaking.

"I doubt it," Ling said. "He is a giant monster after all. And on top of that I'm pretty sure he broke a couple of my ribs back there."

"I'm a bit beat up as well," Ed stated. His voice got stronger as he kept speaking. "But that doesn't matter. All that does is filling him with some pain!"

Nodding in agreement with this, I held my ground as Envy brought his front legs up. He hit the ground and the force shot us all upwards, where his tail was waiting to slam into me again. He sent me flying again, this time my back colliding with a wall from an old building. The breath was knocked out of me when I did.

In shock from the impact, I fell in a heap to the floor of the broken up building. When I came back to reality Ed was calling out my name again.

The taste of blood in my mouth caused my stomach to lurch, because this time it was mine.

Legs barely keeping me up as I stood up, I coughed into my hand. My scars were joined with red dots. I scowled and wiped it off on my pants.

My irritation fueling me, I took hold of the spear and glowered at the laughing beast.

"This means war."

**A/N: And another cliffy! Look, if I tied things up in a cute little bow, then where would the motivation for you to want more be?**

**I've now gotten used to writing these long chapters. I'm pretty sure that most of the chapters from here until the end will be almost this long or longer. I'm assuming that's a good thing.**

**Well there you go! I've got two more finals before this semester ends for me and I still need to work on that project, but I can't take the necessary pictures when the weather is this fricking cold and moist. **

**Oh well! Until next time please review, and stay soft ^_^**


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: Hi guys! Thanks for the support while I was busy with school stuff, I really appreciate it :)**

**So you know how pissed off you get at a TV show, anime or movie when they kill off one of your favorite characters? I'm currently in this certain state of depression/pissed off-ness at Guild Wars. Why? Because my charr companion Tybalt freaking DIED! (Note: a charr is a feline race. Tybalt was more like a fluffy, apple loving cat). He was the best companion I've ever had and he had to die! I haven't been like this since Ed died in the first series, or when Al gave himself up in Brotherhood! At least they came back! Tybalt was replaced with a stupid plant person!**

**(SIGH!) Sorry for that rant… ^_^' Well enough of my RPG drama. Now we'll start from Ed's POV a little before the last line of the last chapter. I hope you enjoy the fluffy bits in the middle :)**

•••

The three of them all got into fighting positions around the monster Envy had turned into. His warped laugh sounded as he reeled up onto his back legs. When they connected with the ground a shockwave sent the group up in the air. Ed's eyes grew wide when he saw Myra get thrown against a building. A crack resonated as her back and head made contact with the wall.

Ed fell into the sea of blood and struggled to get back up. He turned his focus on his friend. She was collapsed in a heap on the ground, her spear clattering as it fell beside her.

Ed's stomach dropped when he saw the expression on her face. She had paled significantly and her eyes were half open. The fact that she wasn't moving caused him to assume the worst.

"Myra!" he screamed as he turned in her direction. He started to go towards her but Envy stopped him. Ed scowled and raised his automail sword up in preparation for a fight. He froze when he came face-to-face with one of the bodies that made up the homunculus's torso.

"_Kill me!_" it begged as tears streamed down its face. "_Please kill me! Come on, help me._"

Forgetting about Myra, Ed's breath caught in his throat at the gruesome sight. It was a person and he couldn't kill anyone, even in this state!

The horror he felt only worsened as another body forced its way up through the mouth of the first one. It cackled maniacally in his face.

He went completely stiff as more voices joined the laughter. His wide eyed expression shifted into one of utter terror.

Before anything else could happen, Ling had driven his sword into the thing's head.

Envy glanced at the boys and let out a loud roar. He started to swing his tail at them but Ling had already gotten himself and Ed to a safer spot.

"Snap out of it!" the prince said fiercely. Ed didn't seem to notice anything that had just happened. He was staring at the ground in a state of shock. "What's the matter with you!? Why didn't you attack him!?"

He shook as he breathed. "Those are people," he said, voice soft. "They're trapped and need our help…"

"No they're not! It's a trick! He's a monster!"

"But…" Ed started to protest. Ling grabbed him by the collar, cutting him off.

"Listen to me! Those things are monsters!"

As if on cue, all of the voices started to get louder. One sound cut through everything.

Ed, Ling, and Envy all turned around to face Myra. The small brunette was coughing madly into her hand. After wiping it against her leg, her disgusted expression shifted into a scowl.

"Okay you ugly monster," she growled as she stood up, taking her weapon in hand. Ed caught a glimpse of the angry fire in her eyes. "This means war."

Envy narrowed his eyes at her and let out another roar. Myra threw the spear at Envy, smiling sadistically as it stabbed through one of the bodies. The monster let out a load roar while she clapped her hands and touched the wall she'd just collided into. Blue electricity crackled as the wall turned into arrows that shot out and skewered the giant monster Envy had become. He screeched in pain and started for her.

Finally coming to his senses, Ed stood up and charged towards the homunculus. The voices started to get louder as he neared him.

"Shut up!" Ed screeched at the bodies as he narrowed his eyes. They grew wide again when one voice stood out more than the others.

"_Wanna play?_"

He froze once again as memories of the little girl he and Al had grown to care so much about swam through his mind.

"_Let's play big brother._"

"Ed!" Myra's voice shouted. "Snap out of it!"

He snapped back into reality just in time for Envy to make his move.

"I'm done playing," his warped voice said.

A large green hand reached for Ed and grabbed him. He struggled to get free as the homunculus lifted him up into the air. The hand slammed him down against the platform. The force knocked the breath out of him and a crack sounded as he made contact with the hard stone.

"Edward!" he heard Myra scream as his vision began to falter.

His head turned slightly to see the girl coming for him be blocked off by the massive green monster.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as he felt his strength leave him.

•

The beast that Envy'd turned into cut me off from reaching Ed. I gritted my teeth before clapping my hands and hitting the ground. A large spike shot up and drilled straight through Envy. He let out a high pitched shriek before breaking it off and ramming his tail into me again.

I screamed as I was sent flying. Tumbling as I landed in the blood, I came to a stop when I made contact with a round piece of stone.

Grimacing through the pain in my chest and my flesh leg, I staggered upwards and turned back towards Ed. My eyes grew wide when I saw Envy's massive head hovering above Ed's body. Bodies dripped from his mouth and reached out to grab the unconscious blonde.

"Edward!" I screamed again. "Wake up! Get away from him!"

He didn't seem to hear me as he was lifted into the homunculus's mouth. With a hard snap of his teeth, Ed was trapped inside.

"No!" Ling cried out.

The whole world seemed to come to a standstill. I couldn't breathe or even move. My legs gave out and I fell to my knees.

"No," I whispered to myself in protest. "This can't be happening…"

Angry tears pricked at my eyes as I glared at the giant green beast. "Give him back to me you monster!" I shrieked as I slapped my hands together, ready to unleash hell. I hit the ground and it started to shift into multiple spikes ready to skewer Envy like a kabob.

"Myra! Stop!" Ling shouted. I stopped and turned to him as he continued. "You can't!"

Seething in anger, my hands turned into fists. "And why the hell not!?" I screamed at him.

"Ed might still be alive!" he explained. A sharp pain hit me in the chest at this. "If you attack like that you might kill him!"

I lowered my hands and looked back at Envy. A loud sound resonated from the inside of his mouth. One of his massive teeth was knocked out of his mouth and it looked like Ed's leg was jutting out of the hole that was in its place.

"Come on Envy!" Ed's muffled voice said. "Open up! Your breath is killing me!"

I could have passed out from relief but I didn't. The combination of emotions I was feeling kept me mostly upright.

"I think I've found a way out of this place!" he called out.

We all went completely still, even Envy. My eyes had grown wide and I had no clue how to react to this.

"Come on!" Ed called once more. Things falling back into place, Envy opened his large mouth and I caught a glimpse of Ed's blonde hair.

I got back to my feet and ran over to him as he was let down. "I thought you were dead!" I called as I did so.

He looked down at me. "So did I," he said in a softer tone.

After swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat, I punched his metal shoulder with my still clenched fist. He staggered backwards some while a sharp pain shot up through my arm when I did so. I ignored it and hid my face beneath blood soaked bangs.

"What was that for?" he asked in a confused and annoyed tone.

It took me a second to find an answer for this. Punching him seemed to be the only way to relieve some of that stress.

My voice was soft and breathy as I finally responded to this, but not with an answer to his question. "If Ling hadn't stopped me I'd have killed you trying to get through Envy. I… I really thought you'd died…"

Any and all words left me as I trailed off. There was a certain air hanging over me that made my chest tighten, though it could have just been the fact I'd broken a couple ribs when I'd last gotten tossed.

•••

Ed looked down at Myra, his face starting to heat up as he began to understand some of what she was trying to say.

He had no clue of what to do in this position. He'd never had to deal with people outside of his family until he started working for Mustang. Then Myra appeared and things changed dramatically, and not just for him. He didn't have much knowledge of who she was before he and Al had found her, but she'd clearly changed since then. As for him, he'd been through certain kinds of hell with her always by his side. Even though their partnership was forced, Ed found he was more okay with it at this point. Even though her mood changed without warning, she constantly irritated him, and put him in awkward positions he had grown to care about her. It was only just now that he was realizing this, though.

'It took a near death experience for me to notice how she feels,' he thought, face red at this point.

Myra continued to stare at the ground, as if afraid to look up at him. Ed let out a deep breath and placed his flesh hand on her right shoulder, wincing slightly because it was most likely broken. He felt her tense up at his touch and she looked up slightly at him before directing her attention to his hand. She took it in hers and frowned as he gritted his teeth.

"Envy must've thrown you down pretty hard for your arm to have broken like this," she stated with a smirk as she moved her hand up his arm, trying to find the damaged spot. Ed seethed as she did so, not stopping her. He finally pulled his arm back when she pinched the break.

The girl looked up at him. She'd folded her arms over her chest and was now glaring at him, her face slightly pink. "Come on Ed," she demanded. "Let me help you with that. It'll get worse if you don't do something about it."

He was reluctant but he eventually gave in. He and Ling sat on the platform while she transmuted two pieces of wood to make the initial brace. Ed had given Envy orders to gather all the pieces of the transmutation circle he'd seen.

"Arm," she demanded as she sat down in front of him. He winced as he held his arm out to her.

Myra placed the wood on either side of his arm and held it with one hand as she untied her hair ribbon with the other. Ed watched as her long hair fell around her as she wrapped the ribbon around his arm to finish the brace. He didn't pay much attention as she tied it off.

"There," she stated as she let go of his arm. Ed returned to reality as Ling began to talk to him.

"So how exactly are we going to get out of here?" he asked. As if on cue the giant homunculus had returned with a large stone.

The bodies that made him had gone quiet to a certain extent, so when Envy spoke his voice was clearer than before. "This is the last one I could find," he said.

Ed nodded and looked at the various fragments. Myra had raised an eyebrow at everything and seemed to be trying to figure out what was going on.

"I'd like to know that as well," she stated. "I may have gotten used to the smell of blood, but I'd rather not stick around here for much longer."

He examined the fragments before starting. "Do you remember the broken transmutation circle you pointed out when we in Xerxes?"

"Yeah, why?" she asked.

Ling was the one who spoke next. "Are these pieces all from Xerxes?"

"I think so," Ed answered. "If you look at them individually you don't think much of it, but put them together and it all adds up." He pointed to one piece. "This one has a sun on it. In alchemy the sun represents the soul. That piece has a moon, which represents the spirit. The only thing left is the body, and the stone itself represents that."

"So what?" Ling asked. He obviously knew nothing about alchemy.

Ed looked at him. "I'm pretty sure that these fragments are all from a human transmutation circle."

Myra's eyes grew wide and Ling narrowed his. "I do know something about that," he commented.

Ed nodded. "The only thing missing from this circle is a human being, so I got an idea."

Myra swallowed. "I don't like where this is going," she thought aloud.

Ed ignored this as he kept going. "I thought 'What if I transmute a living human being?'"

All the others went silent when he said this.

He went on. "It's impossible to transmute someone who's dead," he stated. "Myra and I learned that the hard way. You end up having to pay a toll for something that you didn't want. But if you transmute someone that's not dead… what if I transmuted myself?"

Myra's jaw had dropped open slightly. "Transmuting something that already exists…"

"Exactly. You can only get something from that same something, unless you use Myra's trick to change that something…"

"You're still using the same rule," she interrupted him. "The only thing changed is the basic structure of the atoms. You're using those atoms to make another something."

He nodded at this before going on again. "It's still the same rule, so if you transmute something living you should get something living. Also, this is human transmutation we're dealing with. The Gate should open. If Gluttony is a failed portal, then if we go through the real portal of Truth we should get to the right dimension. I'll open the portal, and then you guys jump in in."

Myra furrowed her brows. "Do you even realize how risky that is? It could rebound like before…"

"If it does then I'd be the only one it affects," Ed said, cutting her off. "It only rebounds on the one who opened the portal, which would be me."

"I don't like this," she protested.

He looked up and met her gaze. Her expression was hard to read. He sighed and turned towards Envy. "I have something to ask you."

No one spoke while Ed drew a transmutation circle on the platform that resembled the one from Xerxes.

"This is pretty much what the circle we saw looked like. Above these two dragons…" here he pointed to the symbol. It looked like the military emblem, but with an added head. "…there's a symbol for God, but it's written upside down. In other words, 'bring God down to Earth'. This is what creates the intertwining male and female dragons." No one questioned how he knew the genders of the two, or how he knew any of this information. "The dragons symbolize a hermaphrodite. In other words, a perfect being."

"Bringing God down to Earth seems like an awfully arrogant thing for mere humans to have thought up," Ling commented.

Ed turned to look at him. "Not if all you're doing is talking about it," he said before directing his attention to a fragment with a lion on it. "The problem is this."

Myra frowned as she turned to find what he was looking at.

"The missing piece over here shows the lion swallowing the sun. It's representing the Philosopher's Stone."

She seemed slightly taken aback and confused with this.

"Envy," Ed began in a lower tone. "The stone is made of living humans, right?"

"Yes," came the warped response of the massive green monster. "To be more accurate it's a high energy substance made from extracting human souls and condensing it. The spirit and the physical bodies are just by products."

Ed nodded. "When I visited the Xerxes ruins it was hard to believe that such an advanced society had disappeared in just one night, and there's nothing in the legends saying that they all left."

Myra furrowed her eyebrows. "What are you getting at?" she asked nervously.

He didn't pay attention to her and continued to speak to the homunculus. "You guys turned the entire population of Xerxes and turned it into a Philosopher's Stone, didn't you?"

Envy didn't say anything as the blonde boy continued speaking, his voice starting out rough but gradually getting louder. "I want answers. Who transmuted your body? The entire population was forced into it, along with a large Philosopher's Stone. Who is the one who wants to surpass God? Is it your 'father'!? He's using you and the other homunculi to recreate the destruction of Xerxes in Amestris, isn't he!?"

The homunculus grinned sadistically, caused Ed's gaze to harden into a glare.

"Maybe if you get us out of here I'll tell you," the warped voice said. "Now stop stalling alchemist." He opened his mouth and the bodies slithered out as a red light glowed where they were attached. "This is what you want, isn't it?"

Ed swallowed at the sight, grateful that the bodies weren't talking anymore.

"Come on," Envy continued. "You said you needed a toll, so use it to get us home."

"These are all citizens of Xerxes, aren't they?" Ed said voice softer now.

"Why are you hesitating?" the homunculus questioned as the Stone sank back and he closed his mouth. "You fought Greed didn't you? You must've really done a number on him and clearly you know that he was only able to regenerate using his Stone." He narrowed his eyes and glared down at the alchemist. "I don't want your pity. You're little brother exists only as a soul, so the only reason that you think of these as people is because you want to believe your brother is retaining his humanity. Such a childish notion. It disgusts me to be pitied by a lower life form."

Ed swallowed again. "So they don't have their own bodies?"

"No. They lost their bodies and souls back in Xerxes. They have no memories of their lives or even of what they looked like. All that's left for them is to be absorbed as energy." The arm of one of the bodies touched Ed on the head while Envy continued. "You must think of this logically and not let your emotions get in the way. These souls can never be returned to their bodies."

There was a still silence among the group for a moment. "All right," Ed said, breaking it.

He turned to his friends and said, "If anything happens to me, you guys have to warn people about these guys and that they're planning to use this country for some dark purpose."

Myra opened her mouth to speak, but Ling interrupted rudely. "It's not my country so it's not like I even care what happens to it."

The brunette's eye twitched when he said this. "You little…" she started.

The Xingese prince continued speaking. "There are people waiting for you in your country, right? Then get out of here and tell them for yourself."

Ed nodded and glanced at Myra once more before looking back at the deformed bodies that connected to make Envy.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "But I need to use you."

After exhaling he returned to the edge of the circle and the mood changed. "Here we go," he said, wincing as he struggled to put his hands together. He finally clapped and kneeled down to touch the circle. A flurry of sparks shot up and circled around them continuously.

An eye opened up in the middle and Ed held his breath. The black hands reached up started for him and the others.

'I never thought I'd be opening the gate in a situation like this,' he thought.

"Ling!" he called out. "Jump in!"

The prince nodded and stepped in. The hands wrapped themselves around him, pulling him in.

The hands had already caught Envy and the massive beast was being pulled down.

"Myra!?" he called, wondering if she was already gone. He turned to the side and saw her. Her long hair was flying in the wind the portal had unleashed and her eyes were closed. When she opened them he noticed that her violet irises were glowing brightly. The hands wrapped delicately around her legs and arms before pulling her down.

Ed was the last one to go down and didn't struggle as he was pulled through the blinding light.

'No point in struggling,' he thought as he was pulled.

The black hands let him go and he landed on his left arm. He howled in pain as he held it close to his chest.

"_Well looks who's here_," the familiarly haunting voice said.

Ed turned with a scowl on his face, expecting to see Truth. His mouth fell open slightly and his eyes grew wide.

"Al," he said, practically speechless.

His little brother's scrawny body sat in front of a second Gate. Al turned around to face Ed and looked at him with a sad smile.

Ed scrambled to stand up and started to run for him. "Al!" he cried out.

"_Now now_," Truth's cold voice scolded. Black hands reached for Ed and grabbed his arms and legs, holding him back. "_I'm not about to let you do that_."

"I can't go with you," Al said. "You're not my soul."

Ed paused for a second but resumed his struggling as the Gate began to close. "Alphonse!" he shouted. "I'll come for you! I swear I'm going to get you out of here! Just you wait!"

The arms won and dragged him backwards. The last thing he saw was his little brother's sullen smile.

•

"_Welcome back, little alchemist_," Truth's voice said in my mind.

I opened my eyes and blinked. I hadn't realized that they were closed. They grew wide when I saw the white void. After turning my head slightly I noticed the white figure with my leg. There was an added feature; a pair of dark colored eyes.

Glaring at him, I pushed myself up and frowned at the mess of hair that was enveloping me. I pushed it aside and stood up.

"So what do you want?" I growled, not releasing the glare.

"_I wanted to show you something_," he said simply. With a wave of his hand, a second Gate was revealed. My jaw dropped at the sight.

My brother was sitting down in front of it, looking almost the same as he did when I'd last seen him. He wore the same clothes, though now they were tattered and the colors had faded. His gray eyes looked at me from behind cracked lenses, and his once short black hair now reached the middle of his back.

"Drake," I breathed, almost speechless.

"Hello little sister," he said with a familiar tight lipped smile. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

**A/N: Mwahahaha. Cliffy! So who loves me and who hates me? We're in for an intense scene pretty soon, so keep an eye out for when I next update this.**

**About the little rant at the top, I'm so sorry for that. I mean this is for FMA and not a game, so please forgive me. If not… I don't have a good enough threat so just carry on as you normally would. **

**Last but not least, please don't forget to review this. I like seeing follows and favorites and such, but a little feedback is appreciated. Thanks for reading and the next chapter will be up ASAP. Stay soft my fluffies *:-{) **


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N: Hi guys! How's life going? I've been piled under school crap for a while, but right now life is good and I'm able to update this. I'm happy I've managed to get to writing again. I'd been feeling empty, but fan fiction filled me up again! I don't have anything to add right now, so see you at the end *:-{)**

•

A wave of emotions hit me. I was angry, terrified, and sad all at the same time.

Drake shakily stood up and looked over at me. I stepped forward and place a hand on his chest to check if he was real or not. I could feel his ribs through the torn shirt he was wearing.

"It's really me Myra," he said. "You have no idea how much I've missed you or how much I worried. I've had no clue about what happened to you that night after I was taken."

I was knocked out of the initial shock of seeing him after so long when he said this. My teeth gritted as anger took over. "You bastard," I hissed. I clenched my fist and clocked him square in the face. The amount of force I'd put into my punch caused him to lose his balance and his glasses to fall to the ground with a clatter.

Drake caught himself with his boney arms and reached for his glasses. After slipping them back on, he stood up to look down on me. His dark gray eyes seemed to get darker, as if he were being possessed by some kind of demon. There was a red splotch on the side of his face from the punch, and it only made him look worse.

Swallowing hard, I took a step back. I recognized the look on his face as the same one from before.

"You have no idea what it's like to be trapped in this place," he growled as he stood once again, towering above me. "This blank emptiness… it's like a form of torture to be forced to go through the same memories countless times. You have no clue how many times I've thought about that night when we tried to bring Kat back. I've gone over everything that must've gone wrong and how it could have been perfected..."

Eyes narrowed, I clenched my fists tighter and met his gaze. "Perfected?" I growled. "Everything was taken from you and what you thought about was doing it again!? Get it through your thick skull already, Drake; the dead are meant to stay dead. You have no idea what life has been like for me since that day. I've learned so many things and the experiences I've gone through would make any normal person cringe. My leg was torn from my body and I was left there to bleed to death! Then I became a State Alchemist because it was what you had wanted to do. For ages I thought that I'd killed you and sister, but there have been people that actually _care_ about me that helped me see the truth." I grabbed his hand and pressed the scar on his palm with my thumb. "Remember what you did to me!? You sliced my hand open for something that was entirely unrelated and you _forced_ me to help you! Now our spirits are connected, and if not for me you would have died ages ago!"

Drake jerked his hand back and continued to glower at me as I went on. "I can _never_ forgive you for what you did. You changed the moment Kat died. You worked on this pointless goal that only got you trapped here. I couldn't turn my back on family then, but things have changed."

"What is that supposed to mean?" he questioned me firmly.

I didn't let my gaze falter. "I refuse to be dragged down by you again. It doesn't matter to me that you're my brother. Mom died to save my life and you kept that from me." Guilt flashed in his eyes as he stepped back. My voice quivered slightly as I spoke. "Ever since I found that out there's been this nagging guilt. Nothing would have turned out like this if she didn't save me. You, Kat and Mom could all be sitting at home as a family, but it didn't happen. I know that the only reason you thought we could bring Kat back is because of mom."

My brother seemed afraid of me when he spoke. "How did you find out about any of that?" he breathed.

I jabbed a finger towards Truth, who was sitting on the floor behind us, clearly amused. "Truth showed me some scenes from the past. You know why my eyes are violet, right?"

Drake didn't answer; he just furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"It's part of the payment for my being alive today. Truth sees the world through my eyes and has a tendency to interrupt my thoughts." I shot an accusing glare at the white figure, who simply smiled innocently. Sighing, I looked back up at Drake and finished what I wanted to say. "I'm going to break the bond between us," I stated firmly. My brother's eyes lot some of their darkness and I could sense that I'd hurt him. "I'm done supporting you and when all's over and done with, you'll have done more for me in your death than in your life. I'm sorry, but it's my call. I don't know when, but you will be cut off from me."

My brother looked at me, hurt and shocked. He opened his mouth to speak, but I held up a fist to stop him.

"I'm done," I said firmly, hardening my gaze on him. "There are people waiting for me to get back and they're probably worried. I'm sorry Drake, but this is how it needs to be. You don't exist anymore and that's all there is now."

Drake was speechless as he closed his mouth. He nodded slightly, as if he finally understood.

I heard a creaking sound as my Gate opened, the black hands starting for me.

"Good luck with life Myra," my brother said. "Looks like you'll need it."

I closed my eyes and tried to ignore him as I was pulled back into the darkness. Although it pained me, I felt no regret in saying what I did.

•••

Confusion arose the moment Ed, Envy, and Ling came bursting through Gluttony. Al had no clue that Envy was the green monster that had torn through the fat homunculus.

"Envy?" the man to the side had said in a surprised tone.

"That thing is Envy?" Al's voice said. "Then that means…"

Ed was in the middle of trying to get up when Al latched onto him. "Big Brother!" he cried out as he did so.

The short blonde had difficulty breathing as he was pressed against his brother's metal body. "Al!" he choked out. "You're going to break my spine!"

Alphonse released Ed. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

Ed furrowed his eyebrows. "You didn't have to be so dramatic about it…" He trailed off when he looked at his brother. Al's head hung as he spoke.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so happy you're all right. I thought you were dead," Al said, his armor shaking.

The memory of what Myra had said caused a certain pain to hit Ed in the chest. A sad expression made its way on his face as he placed his automail hand on Al's metal head. "I'm sorry for making you worry," he said, knowing full well how it felt to lose his entire family.

Al nodded and inspected his brother closer. "You're covered in blood!" he exclaimed.

Ed smiled ever so slightly at Al. "Don't worry, it's not mine. I've got a few broken bones though."

Al looked at Ed's arm. "Isn't that Myra's hair ribbon?"

The blonde looked down at the ribbon before turning back towards Envy and Ling, looking for his small friend.

"Where is she?" Al asked. "She got swallowed with you guys, didn't she?"

"Yeah, she did," Ed responded, still looking. A bright red light glowed from the opposite side of the room. As if on cue, the eye reappeared on Gluttony's stomach and Myra came through, landing on the floor in a heap.

She let out a disgusted groan as she sat up. "Well that didn't do my broken bones any good," she scoffed. Myra stood up, wincing as she did so. Her violet eyes scanned the room and caught sight of something behind the brothers. She frowned, her eyes narrowed slightly in confusion.

Curious to know what she was looking at, Ed turned around. His eyes grew wide at the sight of a man that looked exactly like his father.

"Well this is unexpected," the man said. "People coming out of his stomach."

Ed narrowed his eyes. "Hoenheim?" he thought out loud.

The man didn't pay him any attention and seemed to be lost in thought. "Hm… Steel appendages and a metal body..." He moved closer to them. "Are you two the Elric brothers?"

The blonde blinked in a mix of confusion and surprise. "So you aren't…"

"Did you mistake me for someone else?" the man asked. He raised his hand to his chin and looked off in the distance. "Hold on…" He turned back towards Ed and Al. "The name you just said, by any chance did you mean Van Hoenheim? And how exactly are the two of you acquainted with him?"

"He's our father," Al answered.

Myra scoffed at him from the other side of the room. "Since when is giving personal information to strangers a good idea?" she remarked.

The man didn't pay her any mind as he grabbed Ed's head, a pleasantly surprised expression on his face. "He's your father!? I had no idea he had children, this is especially surprising!" He laughed as if it were incredibly amusing.

Ed had quickly gotten fed up with him being so close and everyone except the man could tell.

As the man laughed he patted Ed on the shoulders. The laughter stopped and he frowned. "If the two of you are his sons then why is it that your family name is Elric?"

Ed growled as he backed away from him. "Elric is our mother's last name!" he said in an unnecessarily loud tone.

"Oh is that so," the man said, not paying any mind to Ed's reaction. "Where has he been spending all of his time?"

He growled again. "Who cares!? What I want to know is who the hell are you and why do you look exactly like him?"

The man went off on his own incoherent ramble while Ed had finally had enough. While yelling at him, he made the mistake of moving his left arm. He let out a cry of pain, causing Myra to shake her head at him.

"You really are an idiot," she said as she stepped over. She carefully took hold of his arm to fix the brace. Ed cringed at her touch.

This finally brought the man into reality. "Oh," he said. "It would seem that you're injured." He looked at Alphonse and stated, "And you've lost your left hand."

Myra snorted a laugh. "So you've just now figured that out?" she said as she continued to fix the way the ribbon fit. Ed let out a yelp and she slowed down.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" the pissed off blonde asked, his face pulled into an irritated frown.

"It's worked out so far, hasn't it?" she retorted.

The man narrowed his eyes at her. "You're Myra Loken, aren't you?"

She stopped what she was doing to look at him. "How do you know my name?" she questioned.

"You're the State Alchemist that's partnered with Edward. With your being here it wasn't hard to figure out."

"Ookay then," she said, pulling the 'o' out as she spoke. With one last adjustment she sighed and let go of Ed's arm. "You really did yourself in there," she said to the blonde as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her face contorted into a grimace when she moved.

"Allow me," the man said as he stepped closer to Ed. He took his arm and a red light glowed. Ed's eyes grew wide when the man stepped back and directed his attention to Al. He touched the spot where his hand was missing and a light glowed again. In a matter of moments Al had his hand back.

Ed untied Myra's ribbon and released the brace. He moved his arm and continued to stare in amazement.

'How did he do that?' Ed wondered. 'He didn't even clap his hands.'

The man once again focused on him. He touched his side and Ed winced at the slight pain. "It would appear you've broken a few ribs as well." Once again, the red light glowed and his pain was relieved.

Myra glared at the man from beneath her bangs as he looked down on her. Ed could sense that she didn't trust him.

"You've also injured yourself," he said. He walked around her and touched her back. Apparently she'd damaged her spine, explaining why she winced whenever she moved. Myra stood up straighter when he stepped back and blinked at him in surprise. She watched as he returned to his original position in front of the three of them.

"I consider the three of you to be vital resources. You must remain alive and healthy," he said in a commanding tone.

She raised a confused eyebrow at the man while Ed spoke. "This isn't right," he whispered, pulling her attention towards him. "He didn't make any kind of movement at all to transmute."

"I know," Al said in agreement. "He didn't even thin out my armor."

"In other words, there was no equivalence to his alchemy," Myra stated, joining in the conversation.

The three of them turned to look over at the man.

"What are you?" Ling demanded from the side, the attention of the group now focused on him. Eye's wide, he'd drawn the tacky looking sword Ed made and was now pointing it at the man. "What the hell is inside of you?"

The man looked at the prince from the corner of his eye. "I would ask who you are, but I honestly don't care."

Ling looked terrified but continued to hold his ground. The man turned towards Gluttony. "You can eat him."

The fat homunculus cheered and started for the prince. The three others moved to block him from Ling.

"Come on!" Ed called. "He's our friend! You want to keep us happy right?"

"Your friendship with him doesn't make him any less useless to me," the man continued as he walked away. Myra's eyes grew wide.

"Brother," Al said to get Ed's attention. "The homunculi kept calling this guy 'Father'. I think that means he's the one who created them."

Ed narrowed his eyes at the man.

"He did heal our wounds though," Al continued.

Ling staggered forward. "He didn't heal mine," he said. He glared at 'Father' as he spoke. "I don't like him. I can tell he looks down on humans and calls us fools."

This caused him to stop walking and turn around. "When you see an insect on the ground do you stop to think of it as a fool?" he asked. "The life of an insect is so beneath you it would be a waste of time to bother with judging it. That is a more accurate summation of how I think of you humans."

Myra's wide eyes narrowed into a glare. She looked almost evil with the devious smirk she wore, and her loose hair causing shadows to frame her face. "That's pretty arrogant of you, considering you need us humans for whatever it is you're trying to do with this country."

Ed took advantage of Myra distracting Father to clap his hands and transmute the floor. Father didn't even flinch as he stopped Ed's attack.

Al was the next one to attack, but that proved more frivolous than the first attempt. Ling leaped into the air and started for Father, who had already hit him with a counter blow.

"Do you three really think it's a good idea to go provoking this guy?" Myra asked as she backed up slightly.

Ignoring her, the brothers continued trying to get to their new enemy.

Father sighed. "I've had enough of this," he said. The next moment, a red flash had nearly blinded everyone in the room.

•

A horrible feeling of weakness washed over me and I felt my legs start to go weak. I staggered forward and somehow managed to stay upright. There was a sharp pain in the back of my skull and my hand reached up to cradle my head.

"What the hell was that?" I managed to say. The sound of clapping rang in my ears and I glanced over to see the brothers about to attack again. Nothing happened when they touched the ground.

"_Hm_," said a familiar voice. With the pain in my head already blocking out most of my surroundings, I didn't care that Truth was around right then. "_This is most troublesome. If I were you I'd have tried to find an exit by now._"

My eyebrow rose. "Why's that?" I asked him.

"_While they won't kill you it seems that they will do certain things to make sure you don't run off._"

I let my hand fall in exasperation. "So you're suggesting that I try to get out of here when it's pointless?"

"_I never said it was pointless. I just don't want my toy to break._" I could almost see the wide smile that I knew was on his face by now and it pissed me off.

"For the last time, don't call me your toy," I growled with a sneer on my face.

"_We've been over this_," he said, the smile obviously gone by now. "_I can call you whatever I want_."

My head hung in irritation. The silence in the room caused me to realize that everyone else was staring at me.

With a pissed off sigh, I asked, "Why do you always talk to me at inconvenient points in time?"

"_I may talk but you respond._"

'How old are you!?' I thought loudly. He simply laughed.

Choosing to ignore him, I looked from one to the other. Envy now had the brothers pinned down and Gluttony was sitting on Ling. They were all focused on me with confused expressions, save Al, on their faces.

Father looked me up and down, sending a chill down my spine. I tried to take a step backwards but found I could hardly move.

'You know, at this moment in time standing in front of my Gate sounds pretty nice right now,' I thought nervously.

"_It would do you hardly any good considering the situation_," Truth said. "_You're in a physically weak state right now and while your wounds may be healed, you haven't eaten or drank much in a little more than a day. Without something providing for your body you may find it in much worse condition when you return to it._"

Scowling, I hissed, "I wasn't being serious."

The silence that followed showed that he didn't believe me.

Envy's warped voice cut through my conversation with Truth. "Hey pipsqueak," he said to Ed. I noticed the serial killer look on Ed's face when he heard the homunculus say this. "She was like this back in Gluttony's stomach wasn't she? 'God' was talking to her?"

My eye twitched. "I can hear you, you know!" I said loudly before having to push the mess of hair out of my face. The green monster turned back towards me and glared. I glared back as I spoke. "And yes. As I'd told you before, God talks to me."

Father started to walk towards me and a certain form of fear came over me.

"How can he talk to you?" he asked.

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. "Well it's more or less that I can hear his voice in my head and he tends to come at bad times."

Father narrowed his eyes slightly. "I shall rephrase my question. _Why_ does he talk to you?"

"I-I'm not sure about how to answer that," I responded, stammering slightly as I spoke. This person may have looked like Ed's old man, but this one was noticeably more powerful. "He says that I'm important, so I've decided to not argue against him on that. But it has more to do with when my mom transmuted me. He sees through my eyes now…"

"Hm," Father said, causing me to trail off. He continued to look down on me. "It would seem that you are a more valuable resource than I had previously thought. Not only have you opened the portal of Truth, but you also have direct ties to him. Yes… I now have confidence that my plan will succeed."

'That can't be a good thing…' I thought to myself. Truth was either watching from the side now, or he was being quiet.

"As for you," he said, returning his attention to the pinned down prince. Father turned away and stepped over to him. "I've given it some thought and I have come to the conclusion that you may be of use to me in a certain way." I couldn't see his face from where I stood, but judging by the expression I saw on Ed's I could tell we were in for more trouble.

There was something inside me screaming to go over and look, but everything else said "Stay here where hopefully you won't get attacked/killed/mortally wounded/all of the above."

Obviously I stayed where I was. If anything bad happened I didn't want to be the one who ended up having to go to the hospital again.

I listened to what they were all saying from the side, my heart pounding with nervousness.

"Luckily for you I could always use a new pawn, and Greed's position happens to open," Father said.

'Don't panic Myra,' I ordered myself as I stayed where I was. 'Luckily that guy wants me alive, so I guess I should just stay out of his way. Something tells me I don't want to piss him off.'

Envy's still warped voice chimed in. "So that's what you're going to do," he said.

"What are you talking about?" Ed growled from where he was under the homunculus's massive green foot.

Father had moved to the side and now I was able to see what was going on.

"He's going to put a Philosopher's Stone directly into your friend's blood stream," Envy answered. "If all goes well, a human based homunculus will be formed." A sadistic smile spread across his face causing a nervous lump to form in my throat. "The only issue is that the souls in the stone will clash with that of your friend, and they'll be at war trying to take over his body. The Stone usually kills its host in the process."

I looked back at the guys. Ed was freaking out, trying desperately to use his alchemy, Al was trying to get free from under Envy, and if Ling wasn't breathing as heavily as he was then I would have thought he'd died.

"Let us go!" Ed screamed. "You can't do this! There's someone waiting for him!"

A look of realization hit his face. He reached around his back and grabbed the gun Hawkeye had given him. My eyes grew wide at the sight of the thing. Having never liked guns to begin with, it only brought on more discomfort to see the look on Ed's face as he turned towards the homunculus.

There was terror and a mix of other emotions in his eyes when he came face-to-face with one of the bodies that had been quiet for so long. The fear on the face of that deformed body far exceeded Ed's. Even from the distance I was at I could take in just about every detail, and I could see the tears that were falling down green skinned cheeks.

"Come now," Envy said, the same sadistic look still there. "Would wouldn't shoot _that_ face, would you little boy?"

Ed looked like he was about to snap, but Ling's voice rang throughout the large room. "Don't shoot, Ed! This is what I want, so stay out of it!"

The lengthy story the idiot prince had told me back in Rush Valley came to mind. Even after remembering his goals, I wasn't about to let him give what he had now up for something like this.

Wanting to stop him, I took a single step forward before finding that I was weak beyond reason. Falling to the floor was my only option, so I didn't try to catch myself.

"_Look what you've done now,_" Truth scolded as I pushed myself up slightly. "_If you weren't so stubborn this wouldn't have happened._"

'I was not going to eat a shoe,' I thought at him, not able to speak. The sharp pain in the back of my skull returned and I let out a soft moan loud enough for only me to hear. 'What did that bastard do to us?'

"_To put it in terms you'll be able to understand easily, he somehow is preventing you from being able to access your Gate. Because you have such a close connection to it, you've grown much weaker than either of your friends."_

I raised my eyebrow as I cradled my head with my hands. 'But all three of us saw _that,_' I thought. 'Why am I so much closer?'

Truth sighed. "_Lest you forget what I showed you. You're mother gave you to me, essentially. You've been through the portal on two separate occasions, with neither one of them having anything to do with the other. On one account you were put through the portal and on the other you opened it for yourself, with help I must add."_

Sighing I brought my hand down. My strength was fading fast at this point. 'I never realized how much I depend on alchemy. It's kept me alive and my connection is the only thing keeping me this way.'

"_Your dependence on such a trivial force like alchemy is amusing indeed, but the enemy isn't the only one that wishes for you to remain alive. I do as well, so that you can eventually defeat them._"

'How can you expect me to be able to fight this guy when I'm like this?'

"_The circumstances surrounding the main event will be much different than the current one. You'll have you're alchemy and there will be help._"

'How do you know all of this anyway?' I asked him. By now the world was a massive blur, and I could barely see the red sparks emitting from Ling's body, or even hear his blood curdling screams.

This time I could actually see Truth's grin. My own dark eyes were narrowed slightly at me. "_I know everything. Being 'God', as you humans call me, I have the power to do incredible things_. _I am unable to do anything concerning this matter, however, because I don't exist outside of my realm. You may speak of me, but it is impossible for me to go to your world. There are certain… rules that must be followed. I needed a human vessel and luckily your mother gave me the perfect opportunity._"

His grin faded out into nothingness and I fell into a space that was somewhere between reality and unconsciousness.

**A/N: Hiya! I managed to get the chapter in mostly on time, so it counts!**

**Do any of you remember the study abroad program I mentioned oh-so many chapters ago? Well I'm thinking about asking my parents if they could send me to one of summer programs when I turn 16 (aka June of 2014). I'm really scared and I could use a bit of support. A regular review works just as well though. Which brings me to my last demand!**

**I am requesting that we can get the number of reviews from the current 79 to at the very least ****90**** reviews by the end of the month. I'll probably update this at least couple times before the end of February, and I expect more than just Kitten and elysenjazz to review. Those two review pretty much every time I update, which makes for a happy Hopeless, but I want to hear the opinions of the rest of you guys. So let's work on that starting now! May your steps be relentless, and peace out *:-{)**


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N: (moping) What am I going to do…?**

**Myra: Hey Hopeless! What did you do to me, you little hellion!? **

**Hopeless: (ignores Myra and continues to mope in her emo corner) I can't handle this…**

**Myra: Stop that and get on with the story!**

**Hopeless: (glares before continuing) … *mumbles***

**Myra: (sweat-drops) Oh well, looks like I'll have to introduce the chapter. (Turns towards the readers) Hi all! It's me, your awesome OC/host. When you were last here, Hopeless decided to do something to me. Even I don't know what's happening, so let's get on with it! **

**Disclaimer: As a reminder, this shrimpy fail of an alchemist (tick mark appears on the author's forehead) doesn't own FMA: B. She only owns me, my family, some extras, and… wait a minute… she **_**OWNS**_** me? What the hell!? That's just creepy! **

•

I couldn't see or hear much of anything at this point. Ling's screams had been reduced to nothing more than static in my ears. My sight had practically gone black, and during the brief moments that my eyes actually opened I could only see distant shapes and colors. The edges of the scenes were clouded, as if they were pictures taken by an old camera with a bad lens.

My nerves seemed to be shocked into a numb state. I couldn't feel much other than the cool temperature. The worst of it all was that I couldn't move. The fact I was so vulnerable scared me. Anything could happen at this point and I wouldn't have even noticed. Or maybe something had happened already, but the fact I was frozen had caused me to not realize. In any case I didn't like it. I could think just fine, but almost every muscle in my body had gone completely stiff. I knew that I was still breathing and that my heart was still beating, clear signs that I was still alive.

"_Correct_," he agreed, hearing my thoughts. "_It may be possible for me to reconnect you to your Gate, but there would be a toll to pay. No matter how precious your life is to the humans, homunculi, or even me, the law of Equivalency is still in effect. This being is manipulating the objects in my realm, and without a toll you'll be stuck like this until he releases his hold._" Even though he was still in his own area, I could almost see the sneer he wore on his face. "_It disgusts me to see lower life forms attempting to obtain such power when they are incapable of being able to use it properly._"

If I could have I would have smirked at this. 'Humans are ridiculous creatures with a want to gain as much power as humanly possible,' I thought. With no response from Truth I kept going. 'Obviously when that's not enough, they then try to reach for something more.'

"'_Ultimate power', as you would describe it, is not meant for your kind to possess_," Truth said eventually. His tone was softer then before and I noticed a sliver of disappointment among his irritation as he went on._ "Unfortunately, the process of attempting to obtain it is what I fear may lead to your downfall."_

'So you're expecting me to fail?' I questioned him.

"_Not at _all," he replied, the disappointment lessening before continuing. "_I'm simply saying that there will always be fools and that there will always be a need for someone to fix those foolish problems. This time around it is you, and someday there will be another. As long as we focus on what's happening now, you should be able to right these wrongs._"

As if by chance, I was able to nod my head in agreement with him. It seemed to be taking time, but Father's hold on my Gate was starting to lessen.

'Screw this,' I thought to myself as I tested every muscle I could think of. My fingers twitched and a cool rush was sent throughout my body as my nerves started working again. 'If I fight my way through, I should be able to gain control.'

Truth left me alone as I continued with my seemingly futile attempts at moving. I wanted to get my body back before something awkward had the chance to happen.

.

.

.

Knock on wood…

•••

Ed watched in horror as Ling's body jerked and twisted into impossible poses, all the while red electricity from the stone crackled. There were several times when the prince coughed up incredible amounts of blood, clear signs that he was dying and coming back to life repeatedly.

And then it stopped. The electricity disappeared and Ling's body went still. There was complete silence for who-knows-how-long before he suddenly leaned forward. His long black bangs fell forward, covering his eyes as he stood up. He rubbed the back of his neck with his bandaged hand, grimacing as he did so.

"Ling?" Ed tested as he looked up.

"Huh?" came a voice that was much lower than that of the prince. Ling's head turned towards him.

Ed's stomach dropped when he saw that Ling's black irises had been replaced with the red tinted purple of a homunculus.

"Oh! You're talking about the guy I took this body from," he said, an evil smile stretched across his face. He held up his left hand and bandages unraveled, revealing the red ouroboros tattoo that now marked his skin. "Sorry kid, but your friend's long gone. Greed's in charge now!"

Golden eyes grown wide, Ed stared with his mouth agape.

"So… you're not Ling?" Al asked. Had it been possible he would have worn the same expression as his brother.

"Did he say 'Greed'?" the blonde thought out loud. The homunculus stepped over to the brothers and crouched down to their level (Envy was still holding them down). "Does that mean you're the Greed from before?" he asked.

Greed frowned at this as he raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"So you don't remember us?" Ed asked, forehead furrowed.

"From back in Dublith?" Al added. At the mention of Dublith Ed was reminded of Myra. He scanned the room for her before being pulled back into the conversation.

The homunculus in Ling's body shook his head. "Sorry, you must have met some other Greed."

Father stepped closer and explained. "The Greed they speak of was my avarice before you."

"Ah!" Greed stated in understanding. "I get it now; that makes sense. But if the two of you want to hear it from me, no I'm not the Greed you guys knew."

"But what about Ling?" Ed asked, his friend forgotten.

Greed smirked. "Now that kid was interesting. Gave up his body without a fight."

For a brief moment Ed was shocked by what he'd heard. Once the shock melted he scowled at the homunculus. "You're lying! There's no way he would've given up to you so easily. Answer me Ling!" He called for his friend, all the while the homunculus continued to smirk.

The smirk was replaced with a confused frown when a door at the opposite side of the room opened. A grotesque chimera was standing in the door way, light from behind it casting an exaggerated shadow. Suddenly, it fell to the ground. Scar and the little girl with braids walked in to the room behind it.

"What the hell is Scar doing here!?" Ed exclaimed. His eyes were wide once again at the sight of his enemy.

"And that meddling girl from before?" Al chimed in.

The girl looked over the room and froze when she caught sight of Father. She clung to Scar's sleeve as she continued to look at him.

"What is it?" he asked, his own eyes fixated on Father.

"That man over there…" she said, trembling slightly as she spoke. "What I was feeling… He's human but also _not_ human!"

Ed watched as the Ishvalan's red eyes scanned over the individuals in the room. "You're right," Scar replied. "None of them are human."

While he knew that Scar was speaking of the homunculi, Ed fully expected a retort from Myra to come from the other side of the room. He felt uncomfortable when there was only silence and was more than concerned at this point.

His golden eyes made quick movements across the area as he tried to keep the enemy in sight while also scanning for the temperamental girl. Catching sight of her he felt a lump form in his throat; she was on the ground and completely still, save the occasional twitches her muscles made.

"It's the Fullmetal Alchemist," Scar stated, somewhat shocked though his normally flat tone made it sound like a comment.

The little girl let out a shriek, pulling Ed's attention to what was happening. "Really!? Where is he!?" she questioned excitedly as she looked around the room. An irritated look came on her face as she looked up at Scar. "I don't see him," she growled at him.

"He's right there," Scar answered, this time pointing directly at Ed.

The girl's face pinched in irritation. "Where!?"

The Ishvalan was clearly annoyed. "He's right there!" he repeated. "That little one is the Fullmetal Alchemist!"

Ed's eye twitched at the comment that Scar made, and an uncomfortable silence ensued for a brief moment as the little girl's face paled to extremes that were a bit much, even for someone that was clearly from Xing.

'What the…?' His thoughts were cut off when he little girl began sobbing.

"How dare you crush the feelings of an innocent maiden you human microbe!" the girl screamed at him.

Only paying attention to the insult Ed proceeded to scream at her. "What did you call me microbe girl!?"

"Brother!" Al's voice scolded while Father and the homunculi conversed. "Did you do something to this little girl?"

"Of course not!" he shouted in defense as he looked at the suit of armor. "And is this really the time to bring up something like that!?"

"Oh, right," the younger brother stated.

Ed's eye twitched. "We need to figure out how to get out of here!"

Envy's warped voice echoed throughout the room. "Go ahead and eat him Gluttony," he said. "He's defenseless without his alchemy."

The fat homunculus cheered before starting for Scar. The angry Ishvalan held his hand out to stop him. Red light crackled as he reduced Gluttony into a few scraps.

This took everyone by surprise.

"You'll pay for this!" the little girl shrieked as she threw a set of kunai at a spot on the ground and another set at the points of a transmutation circle she'd drawn. She touched the circle and blue light sparked from both areas.

A massive stone hand was transmuted and launch Envy and the brothers into the air.

"Finally," Ed cheered as he and Al got to their feet. They clapped their hands and hit the ground.

The next thing they did was run like hell to the opposite side of the room, leaving their enemies to fight.

"Why the hell is their alchemy working and not ours!?" the blonde thought out loud as they kept going. From the corner of his eye he noticed that Myra was no longer in the spot he'd last seen her.

'Where'd she go?' he thought.

He got his answer within about ten seconds.

"Hey you guys!" he heard her voice call out from the other end of the room. Ed froze in his tracks and turned around. Myra was nowhere in sight, but he could see an enormous amount of blue electricity light up the opposite side of the room. Dozens of arrows shot from the wall, impaling the first thing in its line of fire. In this case, every one of them stabbed into Envy.

The green homunculus let out a cry of pain and turned towards her. "You little brat!"

"That's for earlier, you ugly monster!" her voice shouted.

As the dust settled, Ed could now see her; she was standing on the other side of the room, only a few meters from the door Scar had come in. Even from far away he could see that her eyes were glowing violet again.

"How can you use your alchemy!?" Envy questioned her. Ed blinked and began wondering how Myra had been able to attack.

She just snorted a laugh at him. "Cause I'm awesome, that's why," she stated as if it were fact.

Ed hung his head in astonishment. 'What she is is amazingly stupid.'

Her eyes continued glowing as she clapped her hands again. As she hit the floor, more light proved that she was indeed using alchemy.

•

I smiled sadistically as spikes shot up from the ground, turning Envy into nothing more than an overgrown green shishkabob. He cried in pain again and snarled at me.

'This is for what you did to me, my friends, and for making me think that Ed had died!' I thought as I manipulated the shape of my spikes.

"_Try not to overdo it,_" Truth warned. "_You do want to stay in one piece, correct?"_

I brushed him off. 'Buzz off Truth,' I thought at him. 'I just got my alchemy back and now I want to teach these freaks a lesson. If I can't get to Father I'll just tear apart his lackeys!'

"_Don't forget that I assisted with your reconnection_," he reminded me."_As payment you will be cut off as soon I feel that you're safe. You will not be able to reconnect to your Gate until I allow you to do so._"

Ignoring him completely at this point, a maniacal giggle escaped from my mouth as the spikes from the ground morphed and started to slice through Envy like a butcher's knife. He cried out again before breaking through the spikes and starting for me.

Reacting in an instant, the moment he reached for me I jumped back and landed on my hands like an acrobat.

"This is fun," I thought aloud. My eyes caught sight of Ed's blonde hair and I started to make my way over to him and Al.

"You little brat!" Envy said as I dodged his attacks. I laughed again as I got out of his reach. He started to take a step forward, but Father stopped him from doing anything to me.

'Hahaha! I win,' I thought as I got to the brothers.

I looked up at Ed and Al with a smile. "Hi guys," I said.

The blonde didn't seem to have heard me. He was looking me dead in the eyes with an expression that was somewhere between shocked and scared.

Frowning, I waved a hand in front of his face to knock him out of it. "Hey!" I said as he snapped back in place. "What's wrong with you?"

Whatever he was staring at was still there, but he was paying attention to me now. He blinked before answering. "Uh, nothing."

I narrowed my eyes and folded my arms over my chest. My mouth opened to speak, but Al's question stopped me.

"How are you able to use your alchemy?" he asked.

"Hm?" I said. Then I recalled the events that had gone on only minutes ago. "Oh yeah. That Father guy is blocking the connections to our Gates. I practically passed out over there 'cause my connection is so much stronger than you guys'. I reconnected myself with some help."

"Well that makes sense," Ed commented. I looked back at him. "But it doesn't explain why Scar and that kid can use theirs."

Frowning again, I turned around and saw the two details I'd overlooked while attacking. The moment that everything went back to normal I'd heard the little girl screaming at Ed.

"What the hell did you do to the kid anyway?" I asked as turned back to him.

This hit a nerve and he exploded. "I didn't do anything! What is it with you two!?"

I snorted a laugh before going all out. "It was just a question," I said as I toned it down. "And I just wanted to bug you."

His eye twitched before he returned to staring at whatever he had been before. I frowned again and snapped my fingers in his face. "Hey!" I repeated as I furrowed my eyebrows. "What is it? You keep staring and it can't be 'cause you're falling for me."

Ed's face turned pink at this before he finally answered me. "I'm staring at the fact your eyes are glowing."

This statement completely confused me and I ended up staring blankly at him. 'Glowing?'

"_It's true, alchemist_," Truth interjected, "_With your sudden reconnection it caused a large amount of power to surge inside you, which is why your last attacks were so powerful and also why your eyes are glowing._"

'A surge of power also explains my momentary insanity,' I thought, ashamed of how I'd acted on impulse and why I was able to cut through Envy like he was a stick of soft butter. Though I had a tendency to act like that anyway, it'd been exaggerated a few moments ago.

With a nod as my response to Truth, I asked, "Have they done this before?"

I'd meant for it to be in my head but it came out loud instead.

"Back in Gluttony's stomach when I opened the Portal," Ed answered, causing my attention to be dragged back to him and Alphonse. "I noticed that your eyes were glowing then too."

I blinked and then nodded. A large explosion dragged my attention back to the kid and Scar. "So what do we do about those guys?" I asked.

A light seemed to go off over Ed's head as he moved into sight of the enemy. "Hey Scar!" he called out.

My eyes grew wide. "You idiot…!"

"You wanna know the truth behind what happened to start the war in Ishval!?" he called, ignoring me entirely at this point. "It was these guys! Envy was the one that shot that innocent child!"

"Hey!" said the warped voice of the aforementioned homunculus.

"He disguised himself as a soldier and shot the kid on purpose!" Ed went on, pointing at Envy. "These bastards started the civil war! They wanted it to happen!"

Completely amazed with what Ed had done, my eyes remained wide as I looked over at Scar. His expression was harder than normal as he turned towards the giant green monster.

His red eyes narrowed at the homunculi and Father, his right hand crackled with red electricity. "Tell me," he started, his deep voice coated with more evil than the last time I'd heard him. "For what reason did you have my people slain?"

I noticed Gluttony come at him from behind. The only movement made was with his hand meeting the head of the fat homunculus. Electricity crackled as Gluttony's insides were reduced to nothing more than sludge.

Taking a step back, I noticed the kid do the same. 'Ed, you idiot!' I thought. 'Yea it's a good idea to turn our enemies on one another, but this is not going to end well!'

Scar continued with his speech. "Depending on your answer I'll either send you to God or…" he stopped himself. "No. You don't deserve to stand beside God alongside my fallen brothers! Your only solace from my wrath will be damnation!"

The electricity sparked brightly, illuminating the whole of the dimly lit room. I shielded my eyes as he touched the ground.

The entire room was destroyed and I was tossed into the air as the floor moved up in a massive wave. Screaming as I fell towards the ground, my breath was knocked out of me when I landed on my back. I sat up and gasped for air. With a final deep breath, I noticed that Ling was perched off to the side on a piece of ground that was now sticking up.

"Whoa!" he said in astonishment. "He's got some good moves for a human!"

His voice was deeper than before and I caught sight of a tattoo on his hand. I narrowed my eyes and stood up.

"Who the hell are you and what did you do with the idiot prince?" I questioned, fully prepared to transmute something to defend myself.

"Sorry doll, but like I told the others your friend is gone." My eyes narrowed further with the nickname he'd given me. "As for who I am, the name's Greed."

I blinked at him as I recalled the homunculus we'd faced (but not fought because he'd run off) back in Dublith. "You don't look like Greed," I stated with a frown.

'Greed' frowned back. "What do you mean?"

"Well for one thing the Greed I knew from before had black skin," I retorted as I folded my arms over my chest. "And he didn't have the body of a kid."

He smirked at me and opened his eyes to reveal violet-red irises, making me feel beyond uncomfortable. Ling's eyes were so squinty I wasn't used to seeing them open at all. "You gotta go with what you have sometimes, though I'd rather have some other hunk of flesh to be walking around in. And I'm not the 'Greed' you knew before. As for that black skin…" He held up a hand and it changed from pale to the black I'd seen before. "I'm assuming this is what you saw."

"Hm," I said, continuing to frown. He frowned when I did.

"What is it?" he asked as his hand returned to normal.

"I don't like you," I stated flatly.

He laughed at me, creeping me out to a certain point. "Honest, aren't cha doll? I like you more already."

My eyebrows furrowed. I opened my mouth to speak, but was cut off by Father.

"Greed," he said. "What are you doing? Go after the outsiders already."

Greed sighed before speaking to me again. "Sorry doll, I need to go. But I'll be back," he said with a suggestive look on his face. A chill ran down my spine as he hopped down from where he stood.

'What the hell is with that guy?' I thought to myself as he ran through the destruction. 'And what happened to Ling if that's Greed?' My teeth clenched and I scratched at my head. 'If only I hadn't been so out of it while all of that was going on!"

I chased after him, wanting answers. As I hopped through I saw Ed perched on a fragment of the floor, glowering down at Greed. He began chasing him through the wreckage. I growled and went after them. "Hold up!" I shouted.

An explosion sounded as Scar attacked Envy. I braced myself for incoming damage that wouldn't come and kept going. My world went still as Father intercepted Scar.

"Let's talk a moment," he said, stopping the angry Ishvalan in his tracks. "How are you able to use your alchemy?"

Instead of answering him, Scar turned around and pressed his hand to Father's head. While electricity crackled, nothing happened.

"You are clearly still transmuting," Father said with Scar's hand still on his face. "Physical decomposition… no. Deconstruction isn't it?"

Two things happened in the next handful of moments. The first was Father nearly slicing Scar to bits with his mind, and the second was Al saving the kid from Gluttony.

'Wait a minute,' I thought to myself. 'Should I help Al or stick around here while Ed tries to beat up Greed?'

.

.

.

I clapped my hands and hit the ground, my weapon of choice coming up from it. 'Greed it is,' I thought with a sadistic smile. 'That guy deserves it for talking to me like that.'

I started for Ling but was cut off by Father standing in front of me. My eyes grew wide and I gripped my spear tightly.

"And you too," he said. "How are you able to use your alchemy?"

A smirk graced my face as I answered him. "A deal with God can help with just about anything."

The expression on his face remained unchanging. "It seems you'll be more trouble than I expected. I cannot allow for you to be harmed, however I have other methods of controlling you."

My smirk was replaced with a frown as I narrowed my eyes. "Like what?" I asked, not sure if I really wanted to know.

As if on cue Greed called out, "Hey pops! I caught him for ya!"

"Upstairs," he ordered. "I want them all taken to Wrath."

Envy walked in pushing Al inside.

"Look at what a mess the three of you made," the warped voice said. "If you hadn't insisted on fighting us we would've let you three go a long time ago."

I narrowed my eyes at the green beast. Memories from earlier came to mind and I smirked as I remembered how easy it was to break him. "Yeah I'm sure you would've," I responded sarcastically. Envy narrowed his eyes at me. I could see the utter hate he had for me at this point, and I laughed at him.

'That's right you ugly monster. Come at me and then we'll see who's stronger.'

"_Myra,_" I heard Truth say. I raised an eyebrow as my answer. He'd never said my name before, meaning whatever he was going to tell me must be important.

'What is it?' I thought to him.

"_I feel that you should know I'm revoking the toll. Just this once I'm allowing you to get away clean, but there won't be a next time._"

I frowned. 'Why the sudden change of heart?'

"_I cannot seem to find a good time for me to disconnect you from your gate, and it's not worth it to disconnect you in your sleep. Therefore, you don't have to worry about payment._"

Nodding slightly to him, the brothers and I proceeded to follow Envy out of the room and through a hall.

Truth left me alone for a while, leaving my thoughts to be heard only by me.

'If he can't find a good time, does that mean we're going to be facing a hell of a lot of danger for a while?'

Deciding to leave it alone, I stuffed my hands into my pants pockets. 'Oh well. We'll find out soon enough.'

**A/N: Myra: Hopeless! Stop moping and get on with the closing!**

**Hopeless: (glares) Look here chicky! You have no clue how much life is killing me right now so stuff it!**

**Myra: Is this about that boy…**

**Hopeless: Shut up! If you say one more word I will put you and Ed into one of **_**those**_** situations and you and your ancestors shall be shamed 'til the end of time!**

**(Sigh) Well hi guys. As the blabber mouth above mentioned, I'm stressed out. For one thing my family's financial state isn't in great shape so I chickened out about the study abroad talk, adding on more anxiety. Then as a final blow my guy friend asked me to a dance, and for some ungodly reason I said yes. Thing is now he's not speaking to me.**

… **Anyways, I'm sooo happy with how many reviews I got last time (I even got one by **_**the **_**LeFay Strent thanks to elysenjazz). Normally, this would be the point where I say I'm going to increase the goal, but no. The review goal still stands at 90 and if I see more progress I'll make a demand to have at least 150 by my birthday in the middle of June. If the same number of people review each time I stick up a chapter, it seems that goal may actually be possible. So what are you waiting for? There an empty box that needs filling, so please review :-) Stay soft you guys!**


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N: I'm going to start by saying that I'm so sorry for dragging my personal issues into that last author's note in. I kept swearing that I wouldn't do it, but I had to get that off my chest and the a/n was right there... again, sorry. Teenage drama sucks… Thanks to those of you that gave me some support. I really appreciate it. But now that everything's worked itself out, let's put that behind us.**

**In other news… TSSA'S REACHED 40 CHAPTERS! HOLY HERA, I NEVER THOUGHT I'D BE ABLE TO FOCUS ON SOMETHING FOR SO LONG! It's absolutely amazing! And while I never thought I could make it this far and we've almost reached that review goal. So let's get on with it and see ya at the end *:-{) **

•

We were met with two officers, one male and one female, that were clearly high up in terms of standing. The boys were lead to one end of the building and I to the other. I remained quiet as I was lead to a shower room.

My eyes narrowed at the space in front of me. 'You're not going to do anything this time, are you?'

"_No,_" came the response. _"I have no reason to do so. If you wish I could leave you alone._"

My forehead furrowed in confusion. 'What happened to the haughty jack-ass I love to hate?'

"You have fifteen minutes to get yourself cleaned up and dressed," the officer told me, cutting off whatever Truth would have said. She had a strict look on her face as she stood guard outside, apparently to make sure I was the only one going in and out.

With a nod as my response I entered and noticed that there was already a set of extra clothes set aside for when I was done cleaning up.

'They have everything planned out to the smallest detail,' I thought to myself.

I spent a good couple minutes peeling my clothes off of me. The old blood from Gluttony's stomach had dried and caused what I was wearing to stick to me. My nose turned up as I tossed it all to the side, save the pocket watch that I'd unhooked from the belt loop of my pants. It was sitting in a sink full of water at that point in time, because there was more dried blood caked on it then there was in my hair.

The water came out hot but not burning, the perfect temperature my aching muscles were in need of.

'Maybe I should just show my watch to the guards whenever I need to get clean,' I thought as the water dripping off of me turned red. 'Though I didn't join the military to use their showers.'

A sigh escaped from my lips. 'I originally joined because it was one of Drake's main goals, but what's the point now that I know everything that he and Kat were hiding from me?' A moment of stillness allowed me to think about this. 'It's an alright gig when there's no war, but with all these inbound civil wars I'll surely be used for something disastrous. That is, if we win against Father and the homunculi. We lose, and there won't be an Amestris anymore…'

My hands clenched into fists and I punched the side of the shower stall. The low sound echoed throughout the room and for some time I stood there, my breathing heavy from anger and my heart pounding from rage.

'Shut up Myra!' I ordered myself as I lowered my fist. 'We will win! We have to! After we win, I can give up the title and do something else! Maybe I can do something to help those whose lives the military has destroyed, starting with families like the Hughes, and then I can come up with a way to help other people. _Be thou for the people_, as the State Alchemist's are supposed to be.'

The stray thoughts about what I'd do next helped calm me down, and I was able to go along with my shower on a more peaceful note. Once the water draining was no longer red, I turned the faucet off and wrapped myself in a towel, quickly rubbing another over my waist length hair to dry it.

The clothes given to me were plain. There was a white button up shirt with long sleeves and a pair of black cloth pants similar to the ones I normally wore. In addition there was a simple black coat for me to wear instead of my blue one.

I sighed once I was finished changing. 'I've had that coat for years now and it's finally met its end. So long little buddy, you'll be missed.' As a joke to myself, I stood straight and saluted it properly.

An idea came to mind and I clapped my hands. I touched the blue fabric and produced a long blue ribbon. Even if the rest of the coat was worthless I still needed something to tie my hair with. Using the last few minutes I had in the bathroom, I soaked the ribbon in the same sink as my watch to clean it up.

There was a knock on the door, causing me the snatch the watch and the ribbon.

"Hey kid," the officer said. "Come on, we need to get going now."

Nodding, I followed her out while tying my hair into a low ponytail. I was lead upstairs to a small conference room. Ed, Al, and Colonel Creepy were all sitting at a round table. They weren't the objects of my attention, however. Fuhrer Bradley was what I focused on.

"Please, come in Miss Loken," he beckoned. Hesitantly, I stepped forward and took a seat between Ed and the Colonel.

"What's going on?" I asked as an up-in-the-air question. The first to answer was the Colonel.

"Plenty," he answered in the same tone I'd always heard. "Sergeant Major Fuery in in the South, Warrant Officer Falman is up North, Second Lieutenant Breda was sent out west, and Lieutenant Hawkeye was made the Fuhrer's personal assistant."

My forehead furrowed. 'Those guys are all Mustang's lap dogs, right? It makes sense that the Fuhrer would target his subordinates to get him to cooperate, but it's hard to imagine Hawkeye being a personal assistant.'

The silence in the room lead me to believe that we were all focused on our own thoughts.

A loud, echoing sneeze caused me to jump in my seat. Al tried to cover it up by pretending that it was him. I raised an eyebrow at him and began wondering what the hell was going on.

'He's either hiding a _really_ big cat, or there's something going on,' I thought as I continued looking at him.

Ed started talking now that the silence had been broken, pulling my attention away from the younger Elric. "I had no clue you were working for the other side at the time. I have to admit you had me completely fooled." His tone darkened slightly. "When you came to see me when I was in the hospital…"

"'I will not allow you to speak of this to anyone or stick your neck in this matter any further. Assume that the _entire military_ is the enemy. When the time comes I will call on you…' That is what I said to you." Fuhrer Bradley looked at each of us as he went on. "All four of you are valuable resources. There's no need for you to know more than that. Just stay quiet until the time comes and I promise that no harm shall come to you."

My eyes narrowed at him while Ed spoke my mind.

"What happens to everyone else, the ones who aren't 'lucky' enough to be your sacrifices?" he asked.

"As I said that is no concern of yours, Fullmetal Alchemist."

Ed made a 'tch' sound through his teeth. "'Fullmetal Alchemist', huh? The name used to feel like a badge when it was first given to me, but I never thought that badge would represent something so evil." I watched as he turned the silver pocket watch over in his hand.

'What are you planning?' I wanted to ask.

My answer came faster than expected. "I'm casting aside that alias," he said as he stood up, holding the watch out. "I signed up to be the military's dog because it was the only way a kid like me could get my hands on the best resources in alchemy studies. I suffered the shame of having to use alchemy for military ends when it's supposed to be used to benefit society, because I thought it would help us get our bodies back. But if the State Alchemist program is just a system or selecting your sacrifices, and you're going to force me to participate in whatever sick goal you're planning, you can take this back!"

I watched in silence as he tossed his watch onto the table. My thumb unconsciously rubbed against the dragon design of watch in my pocket. A million thoughts ran through my head and for a brief moment I considered doing to the same as Ed. I kept it in my pocket and came to the conclusion that I wouldn't give up this easily.

'Maybe my silence is a sign of cowardice,' I thought as I traced the military symbol, 'but even so I'm not going to throw away what I've got right now. Being a State Alchemist can get me into restricted areas, and considering what we're up against you'd have to be either an idiot or seriously brave.'

"I want you to keep carrying it with you, Fullmetal," Bradley said casually.

Ed narrowed his eyes. "I don't want it. And I'm going to tell the other alchemists about your plans…"

"No. You will continue to serve the military of your own volition."

"Why the hell…?" Ed started.

"What was that girl's name again?" Bradley interjected. "Oh that's right. Winry Rockbell."

This shocked me into paying attention. I looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Your childhood friend the automail mechanic, born in Resembull. She's practically a member of the family, isn't that right?" My wide eyes narrowed at him as he carried on with what he was saying. "She currently works in Rush Valley and is blessed with friends and regular customers. Such a nice girl…"

In the next instant Ed was standing up again, his hands slamming against the table.

"Don't you dare touch her or the people she cares about!" he growled fiercely.

The Fuhrer smiled slightly, successfully infuriating Ed to the point where he could snap. "Now Fullmetal. What will you do?"

I caught sight of the watch on the table and swallow the lump that had formed in my throat.

There was silence as Ed mentally debated with himself. I looked at him and felt uneasy.

"If you don't take it I will cut you down," Bradley stated.

With a final huff from Ed, he took the watch and stuffed it in his pocket.

"Very good," the Fuhrer said with mock approval. He continued once Ed sat down. "You were all brought here to make sure you understand your position. That is all."

My thumb continued to rub my watch as Al spoke up.

"Uh, sir?" he started.

"What is it?" Bradley asked.

"Uh… in exchange will you please allow for my brother and me to continue searching for a way to get our bodies back?"

My breath caught in my throat. 'Oh Al…'

"I don't mind," the Fuhrer said. "As long it doesn't interfere."

One could almost sense the happiness radiating off of Al at that moment in time.

"What about you Mustang? Are you planning to quit as well?" Bradley asked him.

Colonel Creepy took a moment to think about this. "I may be a dog on a leash, but I have my own ambitions and I can't afford to take off this uniform or get rid of this," he said finally, holding up his own watch to emphasize what he was saying.

"Good." At last it was my turn to be questioned. "Well Silver-Steel?" he asked, using my title. "Here's where we decide as to whether I have to drag you down, or if you are allowed to carry on as usual."

I let out a deep breath before narrowing my eyes at him. "I don't have any family waiting for me, I technically don't have a home, and the highlight of these last few months has been my getting this title. So what if it was rigged? I got what I originally wanted either way." I pulled out my watch and glanced at the silver dragon before meeting his intent gaze. "After I take down your Father and the rest of you, then I'll let it go and find a new adventure. But for now I'm the Silver-Steel Alchemist, and nothing can take that away from me right now."

Bradley nodded. "That's very interesting of you to say. I look forward to seeing how you'll go about defeating us."

I scowled at him before tucking the watch back into my pocket. 'Yeah? Well same here…'

The Fuhrer dismissed us, but as we were about to walk out he said, "Would you come here please Alphonse?"

I furrowed my brows as Al complied. "Yes?" he asked.

The next few seconds came and went in a blur. Bradley stabbed Al all the way through from one side to the other. Al seemed scared, while Ed was glaring at the man.

Eyes wide, I stared in a state of shock as the Fuhrer drew his sword back. After inspecting it, he replaced it in its sheath.

"Uh… is there anything else?" Al asked nervously.

"No. You can go now," Bradley said.

With a shaky nod, Al started for the door again. Once he'd joined us out in the hall and the door was closed, the brothers looked as if they were going to scream.

Almost afraid of what was wrong, I asked, "What are you guys panicking about?"

Neither of them looked like they wanted to say, but Ed lowered his head next to mine in such a way that I could feel his breath against my skin. The weird feeling went away once he explained, and was replaced with irritation and utter amazement.

"Why the hell…!?" I started to shout at him. He quickly put his metal hand over my mouth to keep me from saying too much.

"Can it!" he hissed at me. "Are you trying to get us all in trouble!?"

I narrowed my eyes at him and pulled his hand off. "No," I said in a quieter voice. "But hiding an illegal alien in your brother's armor is what will."

He fumed slightly. "It wasn't my plan!" he growled.

With a sigh I shook my head. "First stray cats and now stray people," I muttered.

Ed ignored me to go after Mustang.

"Hey Colonel, do you have any change on you?"

Colonel Creepy huffed while I raised an eyebrow. "You want my money now?" he said as he reached into his pocket. He handed whatever was in it to Ed, who proceeded to count it.

"Geez, is that all you've got?" he asked in an irritated tone.

The Colonel clenched his hands into fists and said, "Well it's apparently more than you have!"

I snorted a laugh and shook my head at the group of idiots.

"Sure, whatever," Ed said as he put the coins in his pocket. "See ya." He started to run down the hall with Al trailing behind. I stood there, unsure of what had just happened.

"Hold on!" Mustang called out, trying to get them to stop.

Al looked over his shoulder and said, "We'll explain later!"

My hands clenched into fists as I started running after them. "You guys! Hold up!" I shouted.

I followed them outside, where they were headed for a phone booth.

'What are they doing?' I thought as I finally caught up. I leaned in to snoop on what they were doing.

"I'm calling, because… are you okay Winry? Have you noticed anything weird going on?" I heard Ed ask. My eyebrows furrowed.

"_Well Ed_," I heard Winry say from the other end of the phone line.

"What is it?" he insisted.

"_You're creeping me out_."

I snorted a laugh at this. When I noticed how frustrated the brothers had gotten, I started and couldn't stop.

Ed shot me a glare before yelling into the phone. "What's creepy!?"

"_You rarely ever call and you never once seemed worried before. It's weirder then a snowstorm in the summer._"

Even after I'd stopped laughing I was still smiling.

"Well fine!" Ed shouted into the phone. "Maybe I won't worry…!"

"_Thanks Ed,_" she said, cutting him off. Ed stared at the phone in a mix of confusion and astonishment. "_It means a lot to me that you care this much._"

He pulled himself together and went stiff as he stepped away from where I could hear. I narrowed my eyes at him. After a moment Ed pushed the phone in my direction, an annoyed expression on his face. I raised an eyebrow.

"She wants to talk to you," he explained.

Nodding, I took the phone and we switched places.

"Yes?" I asked. Knowing Winry, this conversation wasn't going to end well.

"_I was never going to be able to get anything out of the guys, so what have you been doing_?"

Unsure of an answer, she interrupted me.

"_I knew it_," she said in a disapproving tone. "_The three of you just can't stay out of trouble, can you_!?"

My eye twitched in irritation. "Oh shut up! It wasn't my fault this time. It was Ling initially and then Ed tried to play the hero…"

I heard her sigh from the other end. "_You guys are going to get yourselves killed one day._"

"Well I'm not, but Ed was damn near close…"

"_What did he do this time!?_"

Sighing in response, I said, "I'll tell you the next time we meet." I could almost see her blue eyes glaring at me. Pausing to make sure that the boys were no longer in ear shot, I said, "So what was the real reason you wanted to talk to me?"

"_What are you talking about?_" she asked with mock innocence.

My eyes narrowed. "Win, I'm serious. "

"_Okay fine_," she said with a sigh. "_I wanted to know if you're okay. Like, is that Truth guy still bothering you?"_

"Not as bad," I answered. "I mean that nothing has happened like when we were last in Central."

"_That's good, I guess. What about Ed? What are things like between the two of you?"_

Heat rushed up to my face and I could tell that I was pink by now. "O-okay I guess. And I don't think anything is going to happen anytime soon if at all, so stop with that."

"_You never know,_" she said in a taunting tone. The pink stayed, but from irritation instead of embarrassment this time. It was my turn to glare.

I narrowed my eyes at nothing. "You say one more word about the matter and you'll find that wrench of yours close to you in a way you never wanted," I hissed while my hands clenched into fists.

All she did was laugh. "_Yea, sure. Look my boss is calling for me, so I'll see you guys later._"

I growled into the phone. "Fine. Bye Win."

Not bothering to wait for her to say anything back, I slammed the phone down with such force that Ed and Al jumped in surprise.

"What the hell was that about?" Ed questioned as I stepped out of the booth.

I sighed, causing my hair to fall in front of my face. I ignored it while my eye twitched in annoyance. "That goddamn mechanic has to have a death wish or something," I growled.

"So she's still safe," he thought out loud.

"She keeps doing stuff like that and you'll have to worry about keeping her safe from me." My eyes were narrowed and my hands were in fists while I started mumbling to myself. "Infuriating blonde… I swear, the next time I see her…"

"You sure do have a temper there," someone from behind me said. I jumped in surprise as I turned around. I saw the Greed character from earlier standing there.

"Ling!" Ed said in surprise.

Greed looked at Ed with a frown. "I already told you, I'm Greed."

I glared at him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

He looked over at me and smiled suggestively. "I told you I'd come back, didn't I doll?"

A chill went down my spine and I squirmed. 'There is something seriously wrong with this guy!' I thought as my face paled.

The smile faded as he sighed. Greed reached into his pocket and pulled out a strip of cloth. "Okay, so the real reason I'm here is 'cause your pal wanted me to bring this to you guys."

I raised an eye at him as Ed took the cloth. His eyebrows furrowed. "What does it say?" he asked, looking up at the homunculus. "It's in some other language."

"I don't know," Greed said with a shrug of his shoulders. "He just wants you to give it to some girl."

"Lan Fan?" I asked. He just shrugged his shoulders again.

"Is this some kinda trick?" Ed questioned as he glowered at him. "How do we know you won't just follow us and kill her?"

Greed scoffed at this. "I've got more class than that…"

My eye twitched when he said this. 'Yeah, sure you do.'

"… And as a policy of mine, I don't fight women." He glanced at me again with the same smile, sending more chills. He started to walk away as he continued. "Another rule is to never tell a lie, but it's your call as to whether or not you believe me."

I scowled at his back as he walked away. 'Good riddance.'

"Hey wait! Ling!" Ed called, his tone clearly pissed off.

"It's still Greed, kid!" he called back.

Letting out a sigh, I folded my arms over my chest. 'Kid? Just because you act like one of those grown-ups doesn't make up for the fact you're in the body of a 15 year old.'

•

The three (four?) of us split up later that day. Al took the little girl to Dr. Knox's place, while Ed and I got called up to repair everything that had gotten destroyed in the fight with Scar.

I walked over the train yard and clapped my hands. The blue light shined as I touched the ground. In a matter of minutes this area was fixed. Unfortunately the fight had been all over town, and everywhere you looked you could see bits and pieces of wreckage.

'I still think it was a good plan, but if we could have kept the destruction to a minimum things would be easier for us now,' I thought as I fixed an alley.

The entire job took us a couple hours. By the end I was even more tired than before. I still hadn't eaten anything and I could hear my stomach growling as we worked our way back to the hotel.

The sky was orange and casted a weird glow over the city. It was peaceful in a way I couldn't describe. At least, until Ed started asking questions.

"What were you so mad about earlier?" he asked as we walked side by side down the street.

Immediately I thought about Winry's teasing. My face turned pink and I was grateful that my bangs had chosen this point in time to come loose. "I-it's nothing," I stuttered.

I could tell he didn't believe me. "Yeah, right," he scoffed. "I saw how pissed off you were at Winry."

"I-it's nothing," I said. It was getting hard to talk through the lump that had formed in my throat. "Sh-she was just teasing me about…" I trailed off here and turned my head away.

"What?" he asked. I looked at him from the corner of my eye. His eyebrows were furrowed at me.

In one quick motion I said, "Us," while stuffing my hands in my pockets. I didn't dare look up at him as I cleared my throat. "Sh-she was teasing me about us. That idiot thinks that there's s-something going on b… between us."

The tense silence between the two of us caused me to glance over at him. His face had an odd pink tint to it, making me wonder what was going through his mind.

I cleared my throat again. "Please say something," I said in a tone that was more demanding that I'd planned on.

"What do you think?" he asked me.

My face felt warm. "What do you mean?"

"…Do you think there's something between us?"

It was almost impossible for me to answer. I couldn't tell if this would result in him shooting me down or if it would end with confessions.

"Depends," I answered somewhat softly. I knew he could still hear me because he didn't try to ask what I'd said.

"Back in Gluttony's stomach when you told me that you thought I'd died," he started, his own voice soft. "You looked like you were about to have a breakdown or something."

"Well of course!" I shouted at him. He was taken aback with my reaction as I stepped in front of him. "Do you even have any clue how I felt!? You don't realize how much that affected me! The thought of losing someone so _close_ to me again? It was too much to bear! I… I would have destroyed everything! The emotions I was feeling? With such a close connection to my Gate I would have taken all that power and…"

My rant was cut off by Ed grabbing me. His put his strong arms around me, his metal one around my back and his flesh gently holding my head. He held me firmly against his thick chest and I could feel his warmth comforting me. I opened my mouth to speak but was cut off.

"Thank you, Myra," he said in a calm tone. "Thank you for caring."

Shocked for a few moments, when I came back I nodded before returning the hug. My eyes closed and we stood there for who knows how long, simply enjoying each other's presence.

I nuzzled my head into his neck and felt happy tears prickled the insides of my eyelids. "Thanks," I whispered. He nodded in return and we continued standing there.

'This is perfect,' I thought. 'Whatever this is, I really needed it.'

**A/N: Who loves it and who hates it? I don't want to go overboard on the fluffiness because there's still a lot to go until the final showdown, and I don't want anything to major to happen between these two. Hugs are perfectly fine, but you'll have to wait if you want kisses ;)**

**So seeing that this month is almost over and I only need one more review to make my goal, I'm going to test you guys. If we can get at least 5! reviews on this then I'll give all you guys imaginary brownies (Almost as good as the real thing!) If not, then no brownies for you -_-**

**With that in mind, pleaaaaase review and I'll see you guys next week. Peace and love!**


	41. Chapter 41

**A/N: Hi guys! I've recently discovered that if you add a fluffy scene into a fanfic, then people will be more likely to leave a review. Which brings me to the news that I finally got over 90 reviews! I'm so happy! As a reward you all get brownies! But first I'd like to thank those of you who reviewed. AKA: anthologylover, Ella Fox, TikiLand, random-anime-gamer, elysenjazz, and Ed's. Curious. Kitten. You guys get extra brownies! If you don't like brownies, then at least try to enjoy the free recognition :)**

**Now, is everyone happy? Maybe? Oh well. Y'all enjoy those brownies while you read. Advanced notice: Colonel Baker returns in this chapter! Be prepared for an interesting discovery after some more fluff between Ed and Myra ^_^**

•••

The two of them held tightly on to each other. Hugging Myra seemed like the easiest way to get her to shut up, but it was also the first thing Ed could think of to return the feelings he had for her.

With one arm locked around her small yet strong frame he kept her close, and with his free hand he gently stroked her long brown hair. He thought to himself about how soft it was, and how sweet she smelled from the shower he knew she'd taken.

Her warm breath brushed against his skin as she moved her head into the crook of his neck. There was a rush of heat spreading throughout his body with this. It was unlike anything he'd ever felt before, and at that moment he just wanted to pull her closer…

Blood rushed up to his face while Ed mentally slapped himself. There was a part of him that was trying to figure out where all of that had come from, but the rest simply told him to hold on as long as he could and keep her safe in his arms.

•

I kept my eyes shut tight as I held onto him, neither of us showing signs that we were going to let go anytime soon. It was nothing more than a hug, but at heart we were both pretty anti-social so it was something new for the both of us. Thiswas a different feeling; a good feeling but nonetheless different. I couldn't figure out if this was a confession to each other or not, but something inside wanted me to stop thinking about it and just let us carry on.

We continued with our innocent expression of "love" -if one decided to describe it like that- up until the chimes of the clock tower interrupted us.

One, two, three… the chimes went on until it hit seven. With mutual understanding, we pulled apart from each other. I didn't want to, but there comes a time where you literally have to let someone go.

Even after we'd pulled away I kept somewhat close to him. My fingers intertwined with his own and I noted the thick skin of his palm, an obvious sign of his hard work and all the fighting he'd done. It reminded me of my own hands; all the scars from when I was younger and all the fights I'd started.

We started to walk down the street when I heard the sound of metal on metal coming from his pocket. My eyes grew wide as he pulled the gun that Hawkeye'd given him.

"I still have to get this back to the Lieutenant," he said as he stared at it almost blankly, as if there were several things on his mind.

"You wanna go do it now?" I suggested. He looked down at me in surprise.

"That'd probably be best…" he trailed off.

I nodded. "Okay. I was actually planning on going and seeing Baker before…"

Ed nodded in understanding and our hands came apart. "I'll see you at the hotel later?"

Nodding again in response, I said, "Yeah. I'll catch up with you there."

We exchanged farewells and went in opposite directions.

I had a feeling that Baker would be home by now, seeing as it was getting late. I didn't know much about his personal life other than that he had family trouble that ultimately resulted in him having no vacation time, so I wasn't sure what expect when or if I saw him.

As I walked down the street, I tried to recall my commanding officer's address. It was dark by now and I was sure I'd made several wrong turns.

'I remember him telling me that he lived on the east side of town, but where…' My thoughts were cut off when I noticed an apartment building. 'Aha! There we go.'

I walked into the building and up to the front desk. The lady kindly directed me towards the correct corridor Baker's apartment was down.

'What's he going to say when he sees me?' I wondered as I knocked on the door.

After a few moments, I could hear footsteps coming to the door. Baker appeared in the door way, his uniform traded for a dark long sleeved shirt and a pair of ordinary slacks.

He gave me his half-drunk-half-serious smile and said, "Well good evening Loken. What brings you here?"

I blinked, unsure of how to react to his appearance. After a couple seconds I said, "I was back in town and decided to check in with you. We haven't talked since the day I found out…"

He held a hand up to stop me from continuing. "Come on in, Loken. We can talk about military matters more securely inside."

I nodded and stepped inside. My eyes scanned over the apartment. It was as clean as his office was, though I don't think I expected anything less.

"Make yourself at home," he told me as he headed for the kitchen. "I'll get you something to drink."

Nodding again, I continued to look around. There were two couches in this living room with a coffee table in between them. To the side were a couple bookcases; the rows all filled and picture frames set up at various spots.

'He sure had a lot of pictures,' I thought to myself as I started at one end and worked my way down. There were several shots of a teenage version of my commanding officer standing next an older man with light brown hair.

A smile touched my lips as I continued looking. It went away quickly the moment I saw the photo at the end.

My heart seemed to have stopped and time went still. 'What the hell…?'

"Is something wrong?" I heard Baker ask, knocking me back into reality.

I turned around to face him. He was carrying a couple mugs in his hands while he looked at me with a confused expression on his face.

Unable to process anything at that point, I ended up staring at him, my mouth half open from shock.

"Where did you get that picture?" I questioned as I pointed at the frame sitting on the shelf.

His eyes traveled to where I was pointing before his face paled slightly. Clearing his throat, he sighed and put the mugs on the table before sitting down on the couch farthest from me. He muttered something under his breath before gesturing for me to sit down. "Sit down," he told me.

My eyes narrowed at him before I folded my arms over my chest. "Answer me," I demanded fiercely. "Why do you have a picture of my family sitting on your bookshelf?"

Baker was silent as he looked past me and at the photo. It was similar to the one I'd seen in the vision Truth showed me, the only difference being that I could clearly see the man standing beside my mother. He was the same one next to Baker in the previous pictures.

After a few more moments of silence, he told me to sit again. This time I complied and sat on the couch across from him.

"You know, Loken?" he started. "It's amazing to me how small this world is."

This caused me to furrow my brows in confusion. "What do you mean by that?" I asked, irritated he had strayed away from the previous topic.

"I had no clue about what to expect when I was told that I was going to be visiting the South because of some brilliant alchemist," he answered. "I'd lost the papers containing the name and address on the way through, leaving me completely lost. While wandering around I saw you and figured it out. I still had no idea who you were until you told me your name. After that I did some digging and figured it out."

My expression stayed the same as he trailed off. "Figured what out?" I asked.

His mouth turned up in a smile. "I figured out that you're number three; the kid he never knew." The smile stayed while my face relaxed into a wide-eyed look.

I opened my mouth to ask more questions, but Baker knew exactly what I was thinking.

"My brother married as soon as he was of legal age. I was only a couple years old at the time. Soon after, they had a daughter. Her name was Katrice, but I only knew her as Kat."

'Sister,' I thought, blinking at him.

Baker kept going. "Not too long after that they had another kid, a boy they named Drake. They were a big, happy family together for about fifteen years. But my brother was always searching for new places to explore, so he joined the military. His wife was pregnant with their third child around the same time he got pulled over to Ishval. Even years before the civil war there were skirmishes between them and the rest of the country. My brother was against the military's involvement over there and everyone knew it. He ended up staying there until the end and never saw his loving family again, or his last child."

When he'd finished saying all of this, he smiled again. "Wanna know what I meant by the world being small? Out of all the officers that could have gone to find you it was me. Almost like there was some invisible force wanting me to find you, wanting me to reconnect with the family I'd been away from for so long."

Something snapped inside of me as my expression turned into a glare. My hands gripped the sleeves of the black coat while I spoke. "Why did you forget about us? You must've known that my mom… died, so why didn't you help?"

He met my gaze with sad eyes. "I joined the military at a young enough age that I wasn't able to help. There were trainings and I was moved all over the country. From Sekia to Dublith, the military had me everywhere. It was impossible for me to be able to settle down at the time. By the time I made it to Central, the only things reminding me I had other family were those photographs."

My breathing had gotten shaky. Family…

"So if you're my… uncle?" I tried, "Then why don't you have the same last name as me?"

The smile returned on his face ever so slightly. "We were half-brothers. Same mother but different fathers."

I nodded in response while a million thoughts swam through my mind. 'My father was in the military… I guess that was why Drake was so intent on joining. And Colonel Baker is my uncle. I never would have thought that was possible. And he's obviously known about this for a while. I guess I shouldn't pry, but I'm curious to know why he hasn't told me sooner. Was I ever supposed to find out?'

A smile graced my lips and I laughed softly to myself. "You know, you're a pretty good actor. Pretending that we weren't related? I'm impressed."

His classic half-drunk smile appeared again. "Now that I think about it, I should have taken those pictures down when I let you in. Would have spared you the sob story."

I scoffed. "I prefer knowing the truth behind things, so thanks for that."

He nodded in response. "So you came by for a reason, and it wasn't so you could confront your ass-hole of an uncle. What's on your mind?"

It was almost hilarious how he'd switched topics so easily, but I went along with it. "I don't think that there was a real reason, but I have to ask: how high up do you consider yourself?"

His expression shifted back into confusion. "My rank is Colonel, if that's what you're talking about."

I let out a sigh, causing my hair to fall in my face again. "Never mind." Brushing my bangs back, I stood up. "I should probably get going."

Baker nodded and stood up to show me out.

"Stay safe, okay?" I told him. He laughed at me.

"Well that's a little backwards, seeing as I'm the adult," he commented. "But I'll be fine. Take care of yourself Myra."

It was weird hearing him say my first name, but with the knowledge that we were family rules were meant to be broken.

Later, as I walked down the street, there was a weird feeling of peace inside of me. With everything out in the open I felt calm. Ed and I had had a nice moment between us that I assumed was mutual, and there was sense of wholeness from discovering Baker was my uncle.

A soft smile spread across my face and I tucked my hands into the pockets of the black coat. 'I may not have any direct family left, but at least there's someone out there,' I thought.

The pessimist inside of me came up to the surface and I frowned. Thoughts relating to everything that had happened before hand ran through my mind.

"_How are you this evening, little alchemist?_"

My face pinched in a sneer. "What do you want?"

"_I want your opinion,_" he answered. "_I can give you a glimpse of the near future tonight while you sleep in the form of a dream, but do you want it?_"

I raised an eyebrow, knowing full well he could see it. "What's the catch? First there was a complete breakdown, and then you nearly killed me. I'm not so sure that I want it if you're planning on torturing me like that again."

"_Your soul will stay in your body and because it's only a detail and not an event, there won't be a toll. The last times were rougher because of the amount I showed you, but it's different this time._"

I snorted a laugh. "You've gotta be really bored if you're giving me clues now."

"_Hardly,_" he said in a tone that brought on a sensation of discomfort. "_That moment between you and the boy was _very_ entertaining._"

Blood rushed up to my face and I knew that I had to have been blushing like mad. "Sh-shut up," I stammered. "If you drop the subject then I'll let you show me."

The image of his grin flashed in front of my eyes, causing me to stop walking. I blinked, unsure of what had just happened.

"The hell…?"

"_Is something wrong?_"

Blinking again, I shook my head and started moving again. "Uh, no. I don't think so at least."

"_Very well,_" he said again. "_Then take care, little alchemist. And sweet dreams._"

I scoffed. "Yeah, sure."

Truth's voice went silent for a moment and I sighed. Taking note of a nearby water fountain, I made my way over and sat down on the edge. The sound of rushing water made me relax, but I snapped back into reality when I realized that there were other people on the opposite side of the fountain.

"Hey Al. What are you going to do when you get your real body back?"

'Ed and Al?' I thought as I furrowed my brows. I turned around and looked beyond the tower in the middle of the fountain. Sure enough, I could see Ed's blonde braid even in the dim lighting.

"Well, I really want to eat Winry's apple pie," was Al's response. I laughed lightly at this. "What about you?"

"I've been so focused on getting our bodies back that I haven't even thought about what comes after," I heard Ed say. I heard footsteps as Ed stood up and stretched. "I guess the first thing to do is call Granny and Teacher to let them know we're okay."

"Yeah. They've both been so helpful," Al said. "And they'll be smiling when they see us. It'll be nice to see them smile."

"Yeah," Ed said.

I could hear a smile in Al's voice as he spoke. "You know things have been pretty rough for us, but I'm starting to cheer up."

A soft smile made its way across my face and I continued watching them.

"Well, I've found a bit of hope for us," Ed started. There was a smile in his voice as well.

"What is it?" Al asked.

"Remember when the bearded guy prevented us from being able to use our alchemy? Apparently no one above ground could use theirs either."

"But then what about Scar and that girl?"

"Exactly. With the exception of Myra, they were the only ones able to use their alchemy. She could use it because Truth helped her out, but those two weren't affected at all."

"Yeah," Al said. "But the other two must be using something different; something we don't know about."

"Right. Which means we haven't hit a dead end yet."

I continued to smile as they both stood up and walked away. 'My only reason for existing right now is to help them out while also preventing that Father guy from destroying the country. I'm pretty confident that I can make sure both things happen.'

"_Don't jinx yourself, little alchemist,_" Truth said in a mocking tone that infuriated me. "_If you fail then neither of those things will happen._"

My hands balled up into fists and I seethed through my teeth. "I already know this, so shut up!" I roared.

Upon realizing what had just happened, I clamped my jaw shut and pressed my hands over my mouth. Truth cackled inside of my head.

"_You need to work on that temper of yours,_" he said between chortles.

If I could have I'd have already slit Truth's throat with my mind. My eyes narrowed at nothing. 'If you keep irritating me, then I swear…'

"_Threaten me all you like, it won't change anything._"

I moved my hands from my mouth and onto the side of my head. I growled in irritation as I rested my elbows on my knees. "You're an ass, you know that?" I muttered.

"Myra?" I heard someone say.

Eyes still narrowed, I glanced up to see who the visitor was. I caught a glimpse of gold before letting my head hang again.

"Don't mind me, I've just got an unwelcome visitor in my head," I retorted in a pissed off tone. "He'll go away for a few hours soon, so you don't have to wait."

I didn't bother looking at the expression on Ed's face when I said that, no matter how much I wanted to. I was just going to sit in silent protest. When Truth didn't butt in, I shook my head and sighed, causing my hair resume covering the top half of my face.

"You know if you scream like that at this hour someone's going to think you were face-to-face with a murderer."

I snorted a laugh. "Just what I need, a couple of body guards like you guys had."

Looking up, I noticed a half-smile show up on Ed's face while his little brother stood behind him. He held a hand out to me and my face warmed up. I was thankful for the fact it was almost midnight and that the street lights sucked. I reached for the hand and felt the cool metal of his automail. Despite the fact it was metal, his hand still brought on a sense of comfort.

•••

Al couldn't help but notice the closeness between the two as they walked down the street. Ed and Myra stood closer together and they both wore smiles.

'I wonder what happened?' he thought. 'They were at each other's throats a few weeks ago and now they're acting like a couple.' If he'd had lungs he would've sighed. 'At least they finally came out with it, but I wonder what Winry would say if I told her.'

His thoughts were interrupted when Myra started talking. "So guess what," she said.

Ed furrowed his brows. "What?" he asked, noticeably afraid of what she would say.

"It turns out that Colonel Baker and I are related."

This statement shocked the brothers.

Ed was the first to respond. "You're related to your commanding officer?"

She nodded. "More specifically, he's my uncle. He didn't know it when we first met, but as luck would have it he's my father's half-brother." Myra laughed lightly. "The world really is small."

"So you do have family," Al said.

Myra looked up at him. "I guess, but it doesn't feel like it," she said as she lowered her gaze. Her bangs fell in front of her face, and for whatever reason she didn't fight back. "I have family, but it's not my _family_. My siblings and my parents? They're family. But Baker? It's like if Winry and you guys were cousins. You're not family even though you're related."

Ed nodded at this, understanding what she was saying to a certain extent.

The three of them went silent as they walked back to the hotel. An annoyed frown appeared on Myra's face as she went into her room, though neither of the brothers wanted to find the cause.

•

The moment I was finally in softer clothes and huddled under a blanket, I collapsed.

'So soft… so warm…' I thought with a content smile as I buried my head into the squishy pillow. 'So… tired…'

.

.

.

A freezing sensation rushed throughout me, chilling me from the inside out.

Frowning, I looked around. I couldn't see anything but darkness with flurrying white. With a glance down at myself, I noticed that I was wearing a blue coat that resembled the one that had gotten trashed.

'Is this the vision?' I thought to myself. I hugged my torso for warmth and looked around again.

My heart jumped as I caught sight of two figures of in the distance. I couldn't see the first because of the poor lighting, but it was obvious what the other was.

"Nice of you to join the party," I remarked when I saw Truth sitting in the middle of it all. A pair of dark eyes narrowed slightly and met my gaze. His bright white form was a beacon among the chaos.

"_I wasn't going to show you this without being present_," he said.

I scoffed. "Because it'd be improper if you left me alone."

The eyes narrowed further_. "I have my ways of making your life a living hell, so I'd suggest you keep the sarcastic remarks to yourself."_

"There he is!" I cheered. "That's the asshole I hate. Took long enough for him to come around."

Truth was silent as he glared at me.

The dark white shifted into just darkness as the vision ended, allowing nightmares and other images to find their way to the surface.

At first I seemed to be in a dimly lit hall way, but as shadows darted across the walls I got scared. One of the shadows stayed on the wall while the others continued to fly around. My body was frozen as the dark figure shifted from image to solid form.

My own shadow, I realized, stepped forward and came close to me until we were less than fifty centimeters apart.

"_So you've decided to cut ties with our brother,_" my own voice told me. "_Somehow I always knew I was a coldhearted bitch._"

I swallowed the lump in my throat and shakily said, "It's the only thing I can do. Drake can't come back…"

"_Why are you so sure? Those brothers are confident they can get the younger's body back, yet you've convinced yourself that Drake cannot return._"

My heart seemed to stop, and considering it was a nightmare that as wholly possible. I opened my mouth to speak but I soon found my own cold fingertips pressing against my lips. The person in front of my looked like me, but instead of violet the eyes were a dark gray color- almost black but not quite.

"_You shouldn't try to speak,_" she warned me. "_It'll be more fun for them to tear you apart if you can still scream._"

The "them" she spoke of came quickly. More shadows shifted into solid states, none of them with faces or voices. The hallway disappeared into a single black void. I was standing on air, and like the nightmare I'd had weeks ago black hands began to pull at my limbs.

"_Let's see how far we can get without you waking up this time_," my voice said sadistically.

I looked her dead in the eyes as the arms started to pull, as if I was on a torture device. I could tell that my anger was clear in the gaze I used, and my muscles tensed as I gritted my teeth.

"No."

The hands stopped pulling for a brief moment, and in that moment the other me's eyes grew wide in surprise before shifting into a look of amusement.

"_What?_"

"I said, no."

After a couple seconds she started laughing and the hands let me go. It was strange to see someone that looked exactly like me laugh.

"_You're such an interesting human,_" she said as she returned to being a shadow, still laughing. Other than the voice, the only thing letting me know she was still there was the glow around the edges. "_You're about to meet an unconscious end and you simply say 'No'. I'm an image of yourself produced from the Gate, and yet you still remain calm to an extent. Amazing._"

My eyes narrowed as I lunged for the shadow, but she disappeared and I found myself falling from an unseen ledge.

I screamed and flailed about, only stopping when I saw light and a wooden floor.

It took me a few seconds to piece together what had happened and apparently the ledge was actually the side of the bed.

Blinking, I sat up and a sharp pain hit my forehead. I grimace and held my hand in my head. When I lowered it, I let out a pissed off groan at the sight of a red smear; I'd apparently hit the corner of the side table on my way down.

'Just great,' I thought as I untangled myself from the blanket I wrapped myself in. 'Since when has there been a table there anyway?'

**A/N: Seems as good a place as any to stop. I'm already pretty late on this update, no thanks to the essays for English and the **_**FOUR**_** projects I had due last Friday for APHG (go figure, I failed the ones that matter).**

**So who wants to see 100 reviews before the end of the month!? If I can get 4 people to review, then that'll be the big 1-0-0 and I have no clue how to thank you guys. It's been almost a year since this was first published, and while I would have kept going whether or not people read this I really do owe it all to you guys for your support, help, and just for reading this. I feel as if I've grown a lot since I first started and if I could hug you guys I would (even if you don't like hugs, I'd hug you anyway). **

**Sappiness out of the way, please review! **


	42. I'm sorry

**Hi guys. I know that this chapter is breaking the rule that it can't be just an author's note, but this has to come out.**

**I am going on hiatus until maybe the first couple weeks of June. I… I really am sorry about this, but I just can't handle the stress of everything! I'm close to failing two of my classes, I'm dealing with bullies coming at me from almost every angle, there are family issues with my dad, there are issues between me and my close friends that I just… I can't handle anymore! And fanfiction is just adding onto all of this stress! The reviews are awesome and you give me my inspiration with every view I see, but i-it's just too much to handle all at a time.**

**I'm **_**this**_** close to having a nervous breakdown and I am close to tears while writing this, because I never-in-a-million-years thought I would have to go this far. I'm a writer. This is what I do! To have to push it to the side like this… it really hurts both mentally and even physically to an extent. I get carpal tunnel in my hands because I write so much, but I love doing this so I suck it up and let my fingers get tingly. I love to type until my hands go _numb_, but I can't handle the stress of regular updates anymore. My brain is fried, and tired, and I am honest-to-Truth about to break down into freaking tears because I don't want to do this. But I have to. That's how it has to be.**

**Please know that this is all personal. No one is making me do this; it's a decision that I've had to come to. I'm good at knowing when things go too far and that time probably came with TSSA's last chapter. **

**To tie up the knot, please note that I really do love you guys. You're my inspiration, and for a year fanfiction has been the only thing I've had to keep my sanity intact. I would've snapped ages ago without it and all of you out there giving me this lasting support. **

**I love you guys. You're amazing. And I need a break. **

**Until we all meet again, see ya later.**

_**Hopeless**_


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